If I Fall
by Absolute Clarity
Summary: "Granger, you need to be more careful," His voice was quiet, but not in a menacing way...it almost sounded...gentle.' In their final year at Hogwarts, Hermione Granger is delighted to be awarded the position of Head Girl, but when she finds out Draco Malfoy is Head Boy she has much more to worry about than the ever nearing war. (Dramione)
1. Chapter 1

**If I Fall**

"WATCH IT!"

Hermione was daydreaming about finally starting her N.E.W.T.S when she almost pushed her suitcase into a rather big middle aged man in the middle of Kings Cross Station.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," Hermione mumbled as she kept on walking past him.

"You alright Hermione?" Harry looked over at her as they made their way to the entrance to Platform 9 3/4.

"Yeah, yeah...I'm fine," In all honesty Hermione wasn't alright. She was thrilled to be going back to Hogwarts and even though everyone had decided it was the safest place for them to be for now, she had a feeling that things at Hogwarts would be very different this year.

"Are you nervous?" Asked Ron. Hermione was fleetingly confused until she saw his eyes flicker down to the new badge pinned to her robes.

"Yeah, I guess so," She _was_ slightly nervous about being Head Girl, but she decided it was best to let the boys believe that was the cause of her worry. This wasn't the place to continue their discussion about Order's choice to send them back to school, and they already had too much to worry about with Dumbledore gone and only two horcruxes left to find.

They neared the entrance of the platform and she watched Harry and Ron run through. She glanced round nervously. She knew that nobody would see her run in, but every year she double checked that no-one was watching. Muggles missed so much, and Hermione sometimes wondered what her life would have been like if she wasn't a witch - the thought had been crossing her mind more and more over the summer. She knew she needed to go, the train would be leaving soon, and the boys probably wondered where she was, however Hermione had to take a few minutes to prepare herself.

Staring at the brick wall, she thought about the year ahead. This was the last time she would make this journey; she couldn't believe it was her final year. In a way she felt regret more than sadness. Her final year was going to be filled with danger and the Order and the war. She wouldn't admit it to Harry and Ron, but as much as she loved the thrill of adventure, she would have liked to have focused on her studies this year and to make sure she had a career waiting for her after Hogwarts.

With her grades Hermione could probably do anything, but she just didn't know what she _wanted_ to do. She knew it seemed silly with everything that was going on that one of her main concerns was what job she wanted to do. It just seemed as though everyone around her had their whole life planned out - Harry would be an Auror, Ron would copy both his Father and Harry and work for the Ministry, Neville would be a Herbologist and Ginny still had another year at school. Where was _her_ life headed? What if she didn't even survive the war? The uncertainty of everything was eating at her.

Bringing herself back to reality, Hermione looked up and realised that it was almost 11 o'clock - the train would be leaving any minute. She took a deep breath and ran through the wall...and straight into someone else.

"Ooof!" A flash of blonde hair, two trunks falling over and Hogwarts robes tangled together. Hermione fell straight onto her bum.

She hastily began picking herself up until she realised she was staring directly into a pair of fiery, silver eyes. For the briefest of moments they both just stared at one another, until Draco Malfoy gleefully began another year of insulting Hermione Granger.

"Watch where you're going, and keep your vile hands off my new robes, you dirty mudblood," He sneered. Hermione began collecting her dropped belongings, silently reprimanding herself for flinching at the final word.

"I was coming through the entrance Malfoy, I couldn't even see you!" She tried to reply, yet by the time she was finished he was already gone.

"Inconsiderate asshole" She quietly muttered to herself, as she picked up the last of her things - her cloak, a few books...and a her Head Girl badge. She pinned it back onto her robes, and glanced down to check she had everything.

Momentarily confused she stared at a small badge lying on the floor. Hadn't she _just_ put her badge back on? Bewildered, she bent down and picked it up, turning it over in her hands. Hermione wasn't going mad though, for as she turned it over she realised that this badge was silver rather than gold, and instead of saying 'Head Girl' it said 'Head Boy'. Hermione stared at it for few moments, wondering who the owner was, until she remembered who she had just run into.

Malfoy.


	2. Chapter 2

The journey to Hogwarts was as loud as usual.

Within ten minutes Harry and Ginny had already begun discussing the Order's latest plan to infiltrate the Death Eater's next meeting, which then led to talk of what the last two horcruxes could be.

"Shhlythrn" Ron mumbled through a handful of gummy slugs he was shoving into his mouth.

"Yeah Ron, we've already established that there's a horcrux somehow related to Slytherin...Gryffindor too for that matter, but surely Dumbledore would have found them last year?" Ginny said.

Harry - who Hermione noticed was sat incredibly close to Ginny - was one step ahead as usual. "Dumbledore knew what was going on with Malfoy -"

At the mention of Malfoy's name, Hermione suddenly remembered that the Heads were supposed to formally 'meet' before the train arrived at Hogwarts.

She stood up "I've got to go guys, I'll see you when we get to the castle?"

"Yeah sure Hermione" Ron was the first to reply, despite having a mouthful of chocolate.

"Have a fun time doing _'Head Girl'_ things" Ginny joked.

She doubted she would be having any 'fun' but nodded her head anyway.

It took Hermione longer than she thought to get to the Head's carriage, which was on the other side of the train. By the time she got there, she was a few minutes late, but she doubted Malfoy would turn up at all.

Unfortunately, when she slid the door open there he was - a sneer already plastered across his face.

"You're late Mudblood,"

And that was all it took for Hermione to lose her temper.

"Right Malfoy, if we're going to do this job properly - and I fully intend to - then we're going to have to establish some ground rules. First of all - you will stop calling me _that_. I know that our hate for each other is going to be an obstacle in trying to work together, so I suggest we stay as far away from one another as possible, but if you tempt me I will hex your ass down into the ground,"

Malfoy didn't reply to her sudden outburst. He simply looked her up and down making her suddenly aware of the fact that she was still stood in the doorway. She quickly moved into the compartment and made towards the empty seat, but Hermione managed to trip over her own feet on the short journey there, landing with a _thump_ on the surface of the couch.

Malfoy didn't even attempt to hide a snigger. "The supposedly 'Brightest witch of her age' doesn't even know how to walk,"

"Oh, shut it Malfoy,"

"_'Shut it'..._Is that the best you can do? Merlin, being around the Weasels really has dumbed you down,"

Hermione knew he was insulting Ron's intelligence, but she couldn't work out why it almost sounded like a compliment.

"You're nothing but a repulsive ferret!" Her voice was getting louder.

"Coming from the filth of Gryffindor, I'm not really offended," His lazy drawl infuriated her further, and all at once Hermione was yelling.

"I can't believe you're Head Boy! You have absolutely no-"

Hermione suddenly cut off, causing Malfoy to slightly raise his eyebrows, forming an expression that almost seemed perplexed.

"What's wrong now Granger, weasel got your tongue?"

What Malfoy didn't know was that Hermione had remembered that his Head Boy badge was tucked neatly inside her robes and was deliberating whether or not to give it back to him. Realising that she would get into trouble if someone found out she had it, she reluctantly got it out and held her hand out. Malfoy's expression changed back into that of pure hatred.

"Where did you get that? Have you been stealing from me, you little -"

He made towards her, but she drew her arm in.

"You dropped it when _you_ bumped into _me _at the station"

Now stood up, Malfoy was towering over her and it occurred to Hermione that he might actually be a serious threat to her. She flinched when he moved, but all he did was simply unfold his hand and hold it in front of her, waiting for her to give the badge back.

A few moments passed as the determination of both students was expressed through their eyes alone, both waiting for the respect they thought they deserved. Then Malfoy's mouth twitched and he shook his head by millimetres. Hermione thought it was the smallest movement she had ever seen anyone do.

Malfoy's hand reached out to take the small metal object. His thumb grazed hers as he took the badge from her and all at once her mind became hazy. Their eyes locked for a second - just as they had done at the train station, until he swiftly pulled away, taking his badge with him.

He left without another word, leaving Hermione alone in the compartment, wondering how on earth she was going to survive this year.


	3. Chapter 3

"Tell us then - who's Head Boy?" Ginny asked. Hermione had met Harry, Ron and Ginny at the carriages and they all began clambering in.

"I don't understand why it's not Harry," said Ron.

"I cause to much trouble - McGonagall knows that," he casually replied, although Hermione sensed a touch of jealousy in his voice.

Ginny's curiosity was getting to her "Oh will you boys shut up! Tell us who it is!"

"Malfoy," Hermione mumbled quietly as she sat down.

"Who? Macmillan?"

"No...Malfoy,"

"Malfoy?!" The other three shouted in unison.

"THAT SNIVELLING WORM GOT HEAD BOY?" Ron yelled.

He wasn't the only one who was angry. Ginny leaned it towards Hermione. "Are you being serious - Malfoy is Head Boy? He's a Death Eater for crying out loud!"

Hermione completely agreed with them. So far she hadn't been able to fathom a single reason as to why McGonagall thought it would be a good idea to make Malfoy Head Boy. After all, the new Headmistress of all people knew how much they despised each other - and that was what unsettled her.

Harry seemed to read her mind. "You'll be able to handle him though - that's probably one of the reasons you're Head Girl," He said with a small, reassuring smile.

"This is ridiculous - _he works for Voldemort_! It's not just that he's a Slytherin..."

Ron carried on complaining all the way up to the castle, until he started to annoy Hermione. She was the one who had to work with him, not Ron. She almost wished she wasn't Head Girl...but this was something she'd aspired to since her first year at Hogwarts. She wasn't going to let it be ruined by Malfoy.

/

The feast was as lavish as usual. All four tables were lined with plates and plates stacked full of food. The House Elves really had done a spectacular job, and all though the food was magnificent, there was something different in the air this year.

As Hermione looked around she could barely see the subtle change, but it was there. Not in the first years - they were too excited to be at Hogwarts, not really in the second years either - they were happy to be back...but it was there in the older children. Nervous glances, subdued laughter...everyone who knew the danger outside the castle walls was on full alert - as though Voldemort himself was going to attack any minute.

She saw it in the teacher's too. Barely any of them ate a thing, including Hagrid - which meant something was _really_ wrong. McGonagall was watching the students like a hawk, and occasionally she would catch Hermione's eye. She quickly disguised the look of concern in her eyes and gave Hermione a curt nod, which the Head Girl quickly returned with a faint smile.

Hermione glanced at her watch and realised that she had her first patrol soon.

"Guys, I've got to go - I'll see you in the Gryffindor common room later?" She stood up and straightened her robes.

There were mumbles of "Yeah, sure" and "Bye Hermione", but everyone was too invested in the feast to look up at her.

That was, except one pair of silver eyes across the hall...a pair of eyes that trailed Hermione until she left the hall.

One of the privileges the Heads got was their own dormitory and Hermione couldn't wait to see how it looked.

She stepped inside and was instantly overwhelmed by the size of it. It was at least as big as the entire Gryffindor common room - if not bigger with the kitchen...there was a kitchen? Hermione was thrilled, until she began walking towards it and realised it was decorated in Slytherin colours - a mixture of silver and a darker grey - an almost black colour, for the cupboards and surfaces and green tiles on the walls. The colours did make it look fairly modern though and she quite liked the muggle feel it created.

Then she turned around.

Across the other wall was a huge fireplace...already lit. Surrounded by a red, velvet sofa and armchairs - it seemed an exact copy of the Gryffindor living area - but much more lavish. Hermione practically bounced over and couldn't help giggling as she threw off her shoes and rubbed her toes in the luscious, golden rug laying on the floor.

Then she saw the two doors on the far side of the dormitory - she went to the door on the right...it just seemed more welcoming...and opened the door.

Her room was decorated similarly to the living room, although the reds were much deeper and the golds much paler - almost cream. Inside lay a huge burgundy double bed, with a walk-in-wardrobe just to the right of the bed and a balcony on the far wall. Hermione had never been one for materialistic things, but she couldn't help but beam when she saw all of her clothes already hung inside the huge wardrobe. Opposite the bed lay a door, Hermione walked through and realised she had an en-suite. A shower, a toilet and bath and a sink, with a huge oval mirror hanging above it.

She noticed another door on the other side of the bathroom - that must be Malfoy's room, she thought to herself. There was no harm in taking a look, was there? He wasn't here...

Malfoy's room was a mirror image of hers - the double bed lay opposite Hermione, and the balcony led out onto the right. However, in complete contrast - his room was decorated with _his _house colours - silver and green. She shut the door with a _click_ and went back through the bathroom into her own room and out into the dorm.

She stopped short when she saw Malfoy lounged across one of the armchairs. His face turned up slowly to look at her.

"If you're quite done snooping in my room Granger...it's time for our first patrol."


	4. Chapter 4

Silence.

Hermione felt incredibly awkward, but Malfoy seemed unaware of this as he swaggered through the corridors with his usual disregard for anything as common as awkwardness.

They had been in total silence for the past twenty-five minutes and although Hermione thought it was probably better than spending the time throwing insults at each other, the silence was starting to get boring. Maybe he was just annoyed at her - well, more annoyed than usual. After all, she had just walked straight into his bedroom and had a look round - she knew if it had been the other way around she would have been pissed at him. Maybe she should try to take the highroad. She could be mature, even if she did hate the scumbag's guts.

"So, ermm...sorry." She began. "About going into your room," She added after he just glanced her way with a blank expression on his face.

Silence again.

"I didn't realise you were there, not that I wouldn't have gone in just because you were around. I mean, I was just being curious and - "

"Granger, would you shut up?" Malfoy snapped.

"I'm just trying to be polite. We can spent the rest of the evening in utter boring silence if you would rather?"

"Actually I would. I'd much rather silence that your ridiculous attempts at apologetic small talk,"

"At least I don't swagger around the castle like I own the place. Is that what working for a murderer does? Turns you into some sort of superior asshole,"

She saw Malfoy's jaw tense and knew she had almost crossed the line. The petty insults were inconsequential, but when it came to Voldemort suddenly everything became real.

When he spoke his voice was cold, calculating and arrogant. He was full of self-assurance, as though he already knew the effect his words were going to have.

"You're just worried about your little friends. Soon you'll realise that Potter and the Weasels...they're not worth it" He sneered, adding "You disgust me Mudblood,"

_Slap. _She hit him straight across the cheek.

In the brief second it took her to realise what she had just done, Malfoy had gone from vicious to stunned; she could see the shock flash across his face. And in that fleeting moment Hermione's mind began racing with random questions...had anyone ever hit Malfoy? Maybe his Father had, but she doubted Narcissa was violent with him. Had Malfoy ever been treated with anything but completely fake respect by everyone at Hogwarts? Well he wasn't getting it from her.

But he did frighten Hermione - she wasn't going to deny that. She might have been the better of them at magic, however Malfoy was almost a foot taller than she was, and that alone was enough to convince her that fighting Malfoy was not a good idea.

Her hand shook as she lowered it back down to her side.

"_Sorry_," She tried to apologise, but it only came out as a whisper.

He took a step towards her. Every instinct she had told her to draw back, but ever the brave Gryffindor she remained fixed to the spot - almost tempting him to do his worst.

"Granger, you need to be more careful," His voice was quiet, but not in a menacing way...it almost sounded...gentle.

They both stood staring at each other, breathing each other's air and waiting for the next move. Hermione didn't know what to do - he didn't look angry, he just looked, well...confused. His face remained blank, but his eyes gave away his emotions and he'd never seemed more perplexed. She had no idea why though, she just knew she wasn't going to stand him calling her that anymore.

Maybe he was just as puzzled by his own words as she was - Hermione had no idea what to make of them. What did he mean by _'be more careful'_? Be careful around him? Or someone else? What was he even talking about?

Finally Malfoy moved. His eyes flickered and all of a sudden she could see he had returned to the usual sneer of disgust he wore on his face. He ever so slightly leaned forward. His hands began to move and Hermione didn't process what he was doing until his had drawn out his wand to eye level. It was only centimetres from her face. She took a sharp breath in, expecting his anger to show in the form of a hex on her. Yet he pointed it towards his own face and muttered a healing charm for the red mark that was already forming there. Then he turned and stalked down the corridor.

Gone.

Even the air seemed to relax and Hermione let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. For a long time she just stood there motionless, bewildered by what had just happened.

It took longer than she thought to get back to the dormitory, and by the time she was collapsing into bed it was almost midnight.


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione woke up at exactly 6:15 the next morning. She had forgotten to close the curtains after she got back to the dormitory and the sunrise woke her up, but she didn't mind. She was excited for the term to officially begin and for her lessons to finally start. She had double Charms with Flitwick in the morning followed by Potions and Arithmancy later on and had already read the textbooks for all three subjects back to back _and _had made notes on them - there was no way she was going to let her workload slide this year.

She practically leapt out of bed and grabbed her towel, making her way to her new bathroom.

The shower was amazing. There were dozens of buttons for whatever you wanted - amount of water, water temperature, steam, soap, shampoo...the list went on. She loved the different options and tried as many as possible, though she still used her favourite Raspberry Sorbet Conditioner from home - it helped with the tangled mess which she called her hair!

After a long, hot shower she got out and wrapped a towel around her body and another one around her hair, hoping it would dry before she left.

She walked out onto the balcony and decided to let her hair loose, letting the unusually warm September air dry it naturally. She looked out over the grounds and the rest of the castle and said the same thing she said to herself at the beginning of every new Hogwarts year...

I will do the best I can. I will work as hard as I can. I am lucky to be here. I deserve to be here.

After a few minutes she wandered back inside and looking around her room, she realised it needed organising. How had it gotten messy before term had even started? She glanced at her clock - 6:57...she still had plenty of time.

Hermione circled the room slowly, going through all the drawers and wardrobes, picking up cushions, clothes and ornaments - and rearranging them the way she liked. After she was done she stood opposite her bed observing the room. It looked pretty good - a darn sight tidier than it was before anyway...until she looked over to her doorway. There were at least four stacks of textbooks she had brought, but she didn't have anywhere to put them. How could anyone think of putting an armchair in a room, or a floor-length mirror, or a queen size bed (all of which Hermione had), but not a bookcase?!

Looking the huge bed up and down, Hermione suddenly had an idea.

Hermione ended up with just her legs poking out of the end of the gigantic bed. She had managed to squeeze all of her books under there, but only after she organised them into subjects - Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration, and then sub-categorised the subjects, could she fit them all. She was putting the last few into a pile was when she heard her door bang open, followed by a yell.

"Merlin!" As a reflex Hermione brought her head up and, forgetting she was still under her bed, managed to hit it with a loud _thump._

"What the hell are you doing Granger? I thought there was someone trying to murder you with the amount of banging and swearing that's been going on in here!"

She shuffled out from under the bed and flipped around so she was sat on her bum. Unfortunately, this ended up with her looking straight into Malfoy's crotch. She felt her cheeks heat up.

"I was just organising my books!" She swiftly stood up and looked defiantly at him straight in the eye...trying to cover up that she almost toppled over from getting head-rush.

"Wait...I was swearing?" Hermione hadn't realised she had been speaking out loud.

"Yeah - your cussing was loud enough to wake me up, even through the bathroom walls. Who knew a goody-two-shoes like you could talk like that?" His words seemed to slur together and his eyes were glazed over - he must have been telling the truth about her noise waking him up. He looked like he'd just come out of hibernation.

"Oops," She mumbled guiltily. "Although, you really should have been up anyway, it's almost - " He cut her off, covering her mouth with his hand.

"It is _way_ too early for your voice. If you don't mind finishing off your renovation - I'm going back to bed," And with that he took his hand away and was gone.

Hermione's lips were tingling where his hand had been and she slowly raised her own hand to them, wondering why her stomach was flipping. It must be time for breakfast, she thought to herself.

All of a sudden she realised she was still in her towel; it had already gone eight o'clock. She went into her wardrobe and pulled out her Gryffindor robes, enjoying the familiarity of the clothes as she tugged them on - ready for the year to start at last. She virtually skipped down to the hall, only to stop short in the middle of a staircase when she realised she had just had a whole conversation with Malfoy whilst only wearing a_ towel._

/

"What's your dorm like?" asked Ginny. She, Harry and Ron had all arrived about fifteen minutes after Hermione, who had started re-reading one of her Charms textbooks and munching on some toast.

"It's pretty cool - you'll have to come and see it," She said shutting the heavy book.

"How big is it? Do you have an en-suite?" Ginny was her usual bubbly self - talking at the speed of lightning.

"Well, there's one bathroom, so I have to share with Malfoy," She replied with a sigh. Hermione was distracted though, she couldn't help feeling as though she had forgotten something...maybe she was just being paranoid - it was the first day after all.

"He's not bothering you is he?" Harry asked.

"Who?" Hermione replied absent-mindedly.

"Malfoy," Harry replied "Didn't you have patrol with him last night?"

She began picking at her toast. Unsure about the reason why, Hermione didn't want to go into the details of their awkward patrol last night - including when she slapped him. She also didn't want to tell them about her conversation with the sleepy-eyed Malfoy this morning when she was only wearing a towel. She dread to think of Ron's reaction. So she gave them a very edited version.

"Yeah, patrol was pretty boring. I'm staying out of his way though - it just makes life easier," She said subconsciously rubbing the spot on her head that she had banged earlier that morning.

At that moment Hermione glanced towards the door of the Hall. Malfoy had just walked in - swaggering as usual. He was fiddling with something in his hands, but when his gaze lifted he was looking straight at her.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The first few weeks of term went by in a rush. The Professors were piling up the work and Hermione had spent most of her evenings writing essays. She and Harry had been paired together for their first Potions assignment which they were receiving a grade for today.

Slughorn came to Harry and Hermione first - which wasn't a surprise seeing as the Professor worshipped Harry.

"You two did very well - you were one of only two pairs who managed to achieve Exceeding Expectations for your Shrinking Solution. I must say your notes on the potion were brilliant and well worth an Outstanding, however did you use all four daisy roots?"

"Yes, the book definitely said four- we followed it exactly," replied Hermione, who was shocked that they had been graded E rather than O.

"Oh," Slughorn chuckled "Well maybe you didn't shake the rat spleen enough," he muttered to himself as he moved to the next bench.

Hermione turned to Harry "We did shake it, didn't we?"

"Yeah...maybe we only added three daisy roots like Slughorn said," he replied nonchalantly.

Hermione sat puzzled, trying to work out what went wrong, when Slughorn called the attention of the class.

"Most of you will be disappointed with your grades - especially as this is a potion you will have brewed at O.W.L level. However, the difficulty of the exams are increasing and you will have to work harder to achieve the grades you are aiming for.

"Anyway - on to our next project. For your first assignment I was happy to pair you with the person you happened to sit next to, however now that I have better knowledge of your levels of Potions skills I shall be partnering you up with fellow students who are working at a similar level to you," Hermione looked at Harry and gave him a small smile, certain that as two of Slughorn's best students they would be put together. He began calling out names. There were only twelve in the class so it didn't take long before he called Hermione.

"Miss Granger, you will be working with Mr Malfoy, Harry you shall be working with Miss Parkinson,"

Hermione was frozen...Malfoy?!

Over the past two weeks they had managed to avoid each other completely. Malfoy spent most of his time in the Slytherin Dungeons, which was good for Hermione as it meant she could sit in front of a warm fire with a plate of food as she did her work each evening, rather than having to go to the library. Over the past few days though, Hermione had started to wonder whether he was coming back to the dormitory at all. Several times over the last week she'd be doing her work only to snap her head up at the sound of Malfoy's bedroom door closing - without her even noticing him coming into the dorm, or crossing their common room. She must have been incredibly engrossed by her studies...or maybe he was just unbelievably quiet.

Harry got up and wandered over to sit with Pansy, Malfoy slumped down in his place.

"I thought Slughorn was pairing us by skill level," She said to him before she could stop herself.

Slughorn called out to the class again -

"And you will be in these partners for the rest of term...possibly the rest of the year," he said with a smile.

Hermione couldn't believe her ears

"This is ridiculous - you probably didn't even get Troll level for your last assignment!"

Malfoy scoffed "Actually Granger_, _I got Exceeding Expectations," he said, surprising Hermione "And it would have been Outstanding if Pansy had added four daisy roots rather than three," he said, almost as an afterthought.

Hermione thought that was strange. They had made the same mistake she and Harry had done. And come to think of it, Harry was awfully quiet when Slughorn mentioned not adding in the roots - did that meant Harry was the reason she didn't get Outstanding?

"Whatever Malfoy, you just better not bring my grade down," Hermione sighed.

"Bring _your _grade down? Please Granger, I'm the smartest one in this class, if anything I'm going to bring it up," Pompous asshole, Hermione thought to herself.

They spent the rest of the lesson in silence, working on their Elixir to Induce Euphoria. They reached the fifteen minute boiling stage fairly quickly so Hermione began working on their notes.

She couldn't deny that she actually quite liked working with Malfoy. He didn't constantly ask her approval before doing anything the same way Harry and Ron did - and it meant they worked much faster. Glancing over to the other side of the classroom, Hermione spotted Harry and Pansy - they were sat in complete silence, both with pouts on their faces. She almost felt as sorry for Harry as she did for herself.

The lesson ended and Slughorn set each pair an essay to write on the potion they had just brewed.

"You don't have to bother with the essay - I can do it," she said to Malfoy.

"And let you get all the credit? I don't think so. Come on, we might as well go and do it now," he replied and walked out of the dungeons without waiting for a reply.

/

She didn't even attempt to keep up with him and by the time she reached the dormitory Malfoy already had his notes and textbooks spread out on the floor in front of the fireplace.

She went and sat down on the floor next to him.

"So...where should we start?" She glanced at him.

"We can just use the same structure I used for the last one," His voice was monotone as he handed her his essay. She looked at the grade at the top of the parchment - full marks. Maybe he wasn't as dumb as she thought.

"Okay," She replied. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really? You're not going to question everything I suggest?" He said sarcastically.

"It's a good idea...and I'm really not that argumentative, I just - "

He cut her off with a pointed look.

"Maybe you're right...do you want to start on the definitions whilst I do the introduction?" She said.

"Sure," And he began to write.

They fell into a pattern of writing a paragraph, then swapping with each other to edit or suggest changes, and before they realised the sun had set and they had missed dinner.

Hermione wandered over to the kitchen and poked her head into the fridge.

"There's usually something in the cupboard - I can make something if you want?" Hermione had been eating food from the kitchen a few times a week now.

"No, I'm not that hungry...but thanks anyway Granger," Why was he being so polite?

Hermione looked over at him. He was sat on the sofa using a charm to light the fire...but he looked different. His shoulders were slumped and his usual sneer was gone.

Deciding that maybe he needed a bit of comfort food she grabbed some No-melt Ice-cream from the freezer along with some spoons and walked back over to Malfoy. Why Hermione felt the need to comfort Malfoy she had no idea - but no-one deserved to be as miserable as he looked right now.

"Here," She chucked him a spoon - which he caught with no trouble.

"What's this for?" He asked.

She held up the pot "Mint Choc Chip!"

"Where did you get that?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"The freezer - the house elves keep it stocked. Why, do you think I've poisoned it?" She scoffed as she sat down next to him

"Naah, poison isn't really your style," he replied with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't you think I have the balls to poison someone?" She said cockily as she dug her spoon into the ice-cream and shoved it into her mouth.

"I just think that if you really wanted to kill someone, you'd want them to know that it was you who did it," Malfoy elaborated. Hermione thought it was probably the longest sentence Malfoy had ever managed to get through without insulting her. Thinking it over, she realised he was right - she would want the person to know she was the one to kill them.

"What's wrong with your face?" Malfoy interrupted her thoughts.

"Excuse me?" Apparently he couldn't last that long without being rude to her.

"You're face is all scrunched up...you're thinking about something, what is it?" he questioned.

"Just that..." Just that he seemed to know her much better than she thought he did. "Just that this isn't no-melt like I thought it was," she said glancing down at the ice-cream, which was rapidly becoming liquid due to the heat of the fire.

She looked back up at Malfoy and he narrowed his eyes at her, as though he knew there was something he wasn't telling her.

"Whatever Granger," he stood up "I'm going to bed," and with that he left.

Hermione wondered why he was being so civil and why she enjoyed actually talking to him. It was as though he was trying to be her friend. She reminded herself of who he was - and that he _always_ had an agenda. The question was - what was it?


	7. Chapter 7

Malfoy did his best to stifle a yawn. Was it really only a few hours since he had been doing that stupid project with Granger? It felt as though this meeting had been going on for days.

"And how is the current situation at Hogwarts?" A cold voice cut through his thoughts.

Malfoy looked up, straight into those snake-like eyes "Very well, my lord," he replied.

Voldemort didn't look satisfied; it wasn't the answer he wanted.

"Didn't I tell you take advantage of the current situation and befriend the girl?"

"Yes, you did my lord," Malfoy replied casually - that was a mistake.

"Then tell me Draco...how is that going?" There was a hint of annoyance in the Dark Lord's voice, he was frustrated with having to ask so many questions to get actual information from the boy.

"Oh...yes," said Malfoy, finally understanding what he meant. Next to him, Lucius tensed. Ever since the failure at the Ministry, even the slightest mistake from any member of the family would put him on edge. His son continued.

"It will be easier that initially thought to befriend Granger - not only are we sharing a dormitory as Heads, but now we've been paired together for Potions as well," There were several snickers around the room and Malfoy felt stupid for saying that...it made him sound like a child. He should be treated with more respect by the other death eaters, but no-one took him seriously.

"I should have information about the Order from her in no time, my lord," Ha, that shut them up. "Potter's friends are more gullible that I originally estimated...especially Granger, she'll be telling me the Order's plans any day now," Malfoy's mouth got to the words before his brain had time to process them.

"Well done Draco," Voldemort turned away "Macnair - what is the situation in Azkaban?" Malfoy released an internal sigh as the conversation moved away from him.

He thought over what he had just said, that last bit was idiotic of him. Granger might be a pain in the arse, but she wasn't stupid - if anything she was the complete opposite. She was an utter know-it-all, which Malfoy knew better than anyone. He had suffered being second to her in every single class at Hogwarts since their first year.

The meeting ended about half an hour later and Malfoy managed to slip away before any of the death eaters - including his father and the Dark Lord could say another word to him. He apparated to Hogsmede and strolled back to the castle, cursing the protection against apparations with every drowsy step.

He managed to get back to the Heads' dormitory without be spotted - as usual. He assumed Granger would be in her room by now, but when he walked in he spotted that thick, brown hair from over the top of the sofa.

Malfoy wasn't sure what to do - maybe he could get to his room without her hearing, like he had done so many times over the past month? Or maybe this was an opportune time to try and get some information out of her?

It didn't matter anyway, as when he reached the sofa he saw that her eyes were closed and she was fast asleep, breathing deeply. The rolls of parchment on the Potions Assignment they had been working on earlier were still spread across the floor, and leaning in to get a closer look Malfoy realised she had finished them all. At least there was an upside to Granger's intelligence - it made her a much better Potions partner than Pansy. He sighed and his eyelids began to feel heavy.

She and Malfoy had never really gotten together, except for those few drunken kisses at a few different Slytherin parties over the past few years, but Malfoy knew Pansy had a crush on him. She just thought that the way to get his attention was by acting dumb - and if anything that just pissed him off.

At least Granger worked at his level...in fact Malfoy had quite enjoyed doing the assignment with her earlier. She didn't have to ask him whether she was doing the right thing all the time, and Merlin knows no-one else in the school could keep up with him intellectually. It was almost invigorating to work with someone of his own abilities.

Looking her up and down he couldn't deny that these past few years had done some amazing things to her. She had filled out, and now she had an actual figure - hips, bum, a waist...even her boobs were pretty nice. She also had managed to sort out that hair of hers, rather than being bushy and frizzy it looked smooth and shiny...maybe it had something to do with all that raspberry product she was leaving around the bathroom. Even curled up on the sofa, still wearing her clothes...she didn't look that bad.

He thought back to the mission he had been given: befriend her, get information - simple. He shouldn't have a problem with it...but it was Granger.

No-one else knew, not even Granger herself, but he had a history with her. Before he understood who she was, before he realised he was superior to her in the most important way possible - blood...he once thought of her in a different way.

He was only a stupid kid back then, but your first crush is a big deal - even to Draco Malfoy. And he had been punishing her for being a mudblood ever since his father had told him six years ago. Now they were mortal enemies, in every possible way.

Plus Granger was smart...if anyone would figure out what he was up to it would be her. It probably would have been easier to befriend one of the Weasels - between them they only had the mental capacity of a toddler.

Maybe he couldn't do this...

What was he thinking? Of course he could do this! He was a Death Eater, and she was just some mudblood Gryffindor that was friends with Harry Potter. He needed that information otherwise the Dark Lord would kill him, and kill his family. But how was he going to get Granger to tell him the Order's secrets?


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you coming next Saturday Hermione?" Ron looked at her hopefully.

"Coming where?" She replied.

"The Gryffindor party - to celebrate beating Hufflepuff!" He grinned at Harry knowingly. The three of them were sat in the Gryffindor Common Room working. Harry and Ron were doing Defence Against the Dark Arts essays - but Hermione had already completed hers, so she was helping them word their Introductions and Conclusions.

"How can you organise a party for a victory that hasn't even happened yet?" Hermione had never understood the hype about Quidditch - it was possibly the only part of the magical world she didn't love.

"The squad is really on form this year," Ron answered. "Harry's got us all working extra hard - haven't you?" He gave Harry a nudge.

"Yeah...we just have to make sure we improve throughout the season. Our opponents get tougher the close we get to the cup, but Hufflepuff should be ours for the taking." He said, also grinning. Hermione may not understand Quidditch or the reason why everyone seemed to love it, but she couldn't help smile herself. Seeing her friends actually happy wasn't a common occurrence nowadays, so she tried to support them, even if she didn't have a clue what they were on about.

"So...are you coming then?" Ron asked again.

"Yeah sure, why not?" Hermione answered, and he grinned at her.

"Those bloody Slytherin's better not crash it again," They all remembered last year when Malfoy, Zabini, Pansy and some other Sixth year Slytherins came to the Gryffindor party and ended up in a fight with Seamus and Dean.

"Well maybe there wouldn't be such an issue Ron if everyone didn't drink as much fire whisky as they do," Said Hermione, remembering that Seamus could barely swing a punch, and managed to throw up on Madam Pomfrey when they took him to the Hospital Wing.

"Oh c'mon Hermione - we've got to have a bit of fun sometimes!" Ron scoffed in reply.

"I know - but there's better ways of having fun than by being punched in the face by a bunch of drunk, cocky Slytherins," she said. Ron mumbled something unintelligent under his breath, but let the topic drop before they started arguing.

Harry dropped his quill and looked up "Speaking of cocky Slytherins, I've been writing to Lupin, and he thinks we should be doing more to take advantage of your situation,"

"Whose, mine?" Hermione asked, confused by what exactly he meant by 'situation'.

"Yes. I mean, we all know you're in a difficult situation - not to mention how frustrating it must be..." Harry started rambling.

"You're frustrating! What on earth are you talking about Harry?"

"Malfoy,"

She stared at him blankly for a few seconds, until it clicked "Oh, you mean because we're sharing a dormitory," Ron didn't even attempt to hide his snort of disapproval, but she ignored him.

"The Order thought maybe you could take advantage of that," Harry repeated. "Maybe you could find out some information from him about the Death Eaters - or even about Voldemort...or the horcruxes," Harry's voice had dropped down to a murmur. Even though the Common Room was practically empty, they could never be certain of who was listening in, even in the Gryffindor Tower - which was what worried Hermione the most.

She was hesitant at his suggestion "Harry, I understand that this seems like the perfect opportunity to find out as much as we can...but its Malfoy. I mean he's hardly one to cuddle up in front of the fire sharing his deepest darkest secrets," Although the words came easily out of Hermione's mouth, they felt sour, and she couldn't help comparing the situation she'd just described to a few nights ago when she shared a pot of ice-cream with Malfoy himself. Harry interrupted her thinking over that night again.

"I get that Hermione - believe me I do, and the most important thing to me is your safety. I think the Order are underestimating how dangerous he really is," He said with a look of concern.

But Hermione knew that she was the one underestimating the risk she was putting herself in. Ice-cream...of all things! She needed to remember that Harry was right - but how hard could it really be to get information out of Malfoy? She managed to talk to him the other night, even if it was only awkward small talk. They were paired together for Potions as well - so she already had her way in.

Harry took her silence the wrong way, reaching over to pat her shoulder "It's a ridiculous idea really - he was almost the one to kill Dumbledore for Merlin's sake!"

"Yeah, but he never would have had the balls to actually do it," Ron mumbled. By now he had given up on his work as well, and was completely ready to moan about Malfoy.

"I want to do it," Hermione said, to boys' surprise.

"Really, are you sure...?" Harry didn't look convinced.

"Yes, we need to start closing down on Voldemort, and like you say - we just need to take advantage of the current situation. Besides - it's not like I'm in any real danger. I can protect myself against Malfoy,"

Harry gave her a grin "Of course you can,"

"It's not like that ferret has any real magical talent," Ron added, enjoying himself.

"Remember - start small. Don't blatantly ask him where and when the next Death Eater meeting is. As soon as he suspects something, he becomes a threat to you, so just be careful, okay?" Harry said, but Hermione had already zoned out, wondering what she was going to say to Malfoy the next time she saw him.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione was becoming frustrated.

Malfoy hadn't been in Potions for a week now, and even though she could just about manage the work on her own, it would be much easier - and quicker if he was there to help. She was also going to try and use the lessons to start getting information out of him, but so far she hadn't had the chance.

At the end of the lesson Slughorn set them an assignment, including the collection of various ingredients for the next potion they were going to brew.

"Don't worry though," he said in reply to the students' collective sigh "They can all easily be found within the Hogwarts grounds and if you're especially intuitive..." - he winked at Harry, who smiled back sheepishly "...then you may find some knowledgeable resources to help you, especially with finding the Asphodel. You're dismissed!" He said cheerily.

Harry caught up with Hermione on their way out "What do you think he means by resources? Have you read anything about any of these?" He waved the ingredients list in his hand.

"Yes, there's descriptions about where to find most of them in _Advanced Potion Making_ and _Magical Drafts and Potions_, but the more unusual ones will take a bit more research," She replied, already planning a trip to the library.

"We can have a look together tonight if you want. I mean, Pansy will be there, but on her own she's actually not that bad..." Harry said.

She thought about it "I would, but I should probably do it with Malfoy...Merlin knows where he's been this past week,"

They were making their way through the corridor when Harry stopped walking.

"Hermione, there's something I should tell you," He pulled her round the corner into an empty corridor. "It's about Ron-," He started

"What do you mean? Is he alright?" Hermione asked, bewildered.

"It's about Ron and Lavender...they've gotten back together..." Harry scratched his head waiting for her reaction. Hermione wasn't sure what to think. Ron had been dropping not-so-subtle hints about them getting together over the summer, but Hermione was always hesitant. She didn't see Ron that way, and she didn't want to ruin their friendship, just because he thought he had a crush on her.

"Thanks for telling me Harry," He smiled at her and awkwardly tried to pat her on the back, making her laugh.

"It's alright Harry - really, I'm fine. It doesn't bother me that much," As the words came out, Hermione was grateful in the knowledge that they were true.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay...good, because you know I'm really not that good when it comes to dealing with upset girls...or upset anyone for that matter," They both laughed - at least Harry was being honest too. In that moment Hermione remembered how much her friends meant to her, and suddenly pulled him in and squeezed.

"I love you Harry, you're my best friend" she mumbled in his ear.

"You too...I mean me too, I mean...oh never mind!" He rambled, as she pulled away.

"Speaking of upset girls - aren't you supposed to be meeting Ginny in the Great Hall?"

/

As they turned into the Great Hall, Hermione stopped dead.

"Are you alright?" Harry turned to her.

"Yeah, yeah...I just remembered I have some Arithmancy due in for tomorrow...ermm, I'll see you later Harry," That was a lie.

Of course she had already done her Arithmancy work, but the first thing she saw walking into the Great Hall was Ron and Lavender - practically sat on top of each other. What she had said to Harry earlier was true - she really didn't care about Ron having a girlfriend. But that excluded Lavender. Hermione had forgotten how annoying she found the girl. And even if she had been dating Harry or Ginny for that matter, she wouldn't have been able to go and sit at the same table as her.

"Okay, see you later," Harry replied, but Hermione was so preoccupied with not being seen by Ron or Lavender she barely heard him. Harry starting making his way to the table, and Hermione realised that if Ron saw her leave, he would think it was because of him. She slowly backed out of the Great Hall, not daring to make any sudden movements in case they caught the attention of Ginny, who was in her direct eye line.

She kept walking backwards, not thinking to turn around as she starting making her way back down the corridor, until...

"Ooof!" Someone suddenly appeared from the corridor on her right and banged straight into her. She fell sideways, and took most of the impact on the side of her left shoulder, but managed to bang her head on the stone floor, cutting her vision for a brief second.

"Bloody hell!" A voice shouted "Watch where you're fuc- Shit, it's you Granger," Hermione pushed herself up, so she was sat on her bum, holding her aching arm, and saw a hand held out in front of her. She looked up and glared at Malfoy, then looked back down at his hand, frowning at it suspiciously.

He scoffed and bent down to look her in the eye "Shake it - please, I'm trialling a new electrocution buzzer," he said sarcastically. He stood back up, and held his hand out again.

"Granger just get up, people are starting to stare as they wonder who the crazy girl on the floor is," he said glancing around.

Hermione grabbed his hand and he tugged her up with more force than she was expecting, and she almost ended up bumping straight into him again. She took a step back and rubbed her arm, already feeling it begin to swell.

"You should go to the Hospital Wing," Malfoy said, watching he warily.

"No I don't...I mean...I shouldn't," She replied stubbornly "I'm fine..I, I just..." She began her sentence, but got distracted by the stars at the edge of her vision.

"I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing - come on," He grabbed her un-injured arm, and lead her through the corridors.

"You don't have to pull me! I can walk," She frowned, pulling away from him. He sighed and shook his head as she fell into stride next to him, rather than behind...although he kept his hand closed around her arm.

"Anyway, where have you been this past week?" Her words were slow, taking her a long time to form each one separately.

"I've been busy," He said bluntly.

"Yeah, well I've been busy too - doing your half of the Potions-...Malfoy...Malfoy stop," He felt her slow down against his pull.

"Come on Granger, I don't care what you say I'm taking you to Pomfrey. You hit your head...you're clever enough to know that means you might have-" Malfoy lost his grip as all of a sudden Hermione fell to the floor.

"...concussion," he mumbled to himself as he kneeled down next to her, for the second time that day.

"Merlin..." he sighed under his breath, scooping her up in his arms.

The last thing Hermione remembered was the sway side to side as he swaggered down the corridor.

**A/N: Please keep reviewing - I love hearing what you guys think! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

_She was walking down a thin, stone-walled corridor. Her feet took slow, careful steps as she made her way towards the bright, gleaming light ahead of her. She brushed her hands along the cold walls as she went, until the material under her hand changed and she was holding onto a brass door-knob. Turning around to check she was still alone, she slowly opened the door. It was pitch black. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and quietly whispered "Lumos," The room seemed familiar, and yet she couldn't work out where she was. There was another door on her left, and a huge bed against the opposite wall. But she was looking straight ahead. A balcony. She walked towards it. Maybe there was a way she could climb down? Maybe she could jump, if it wasn't too high? She walked out onto the balcony and the cool, crisp night air hit her instantly, causing her to shiver. "You shouldn't be here," A cold voice said behind her. She turned around and saw a man, walking towards her, covered by the shadow of the dark room. It wasn't until he stepped out into the moonlight, that she realised the reason she couldn't see his face - he was wearing a black balaclava. The only part of his face that was visible was his eyes, yet the moon was so bright she couldn't even tell what colour they were. She opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. A shiver of fear ran down her spine and she started backing away, frantically looking around for a way to get out of wherever she was. "You should be more careful," The voice spoke again. The words rang in her ears. Before she could react he grabbed her wand and hit her in the stomach - winding her. She tried to fight back; she tried to hit him back, but her arms were glued to her sides. He continued hitting her. She was gasping for breath. He dragged her inside by her hair. She was panicking - there was no way to escape, she couldn't speak, she couldn't move. The masked man shoved her to the ground, her head slamming down on the floor. Her skull burned with pain, blurring her vision. He leant down towards her, and finally removed his mask, revealing a pair of startling silver eyes._

Hermione awoke with a start.

She was gasping heavily, trying to slow her breathing...it was only a dream. Yet when she moved her head she wasn't sure whether she was still unconscious, or if this was reality. Staring down at her were the exact same pair of eyes the attacker in her dream had, and she jumped back reflexively.

"Woah, woah, calm down..it's me,"

Her brain began processing more details. Blonde hair. Black robes. And those silver eyes.

"You've been thrashing about like a fish on a beach for the past ten minutes, and a few hours ago you were muttering something about Asphodel,"

Why was Malfoy here? Why was she lying down? Why did her head feel as though someone had stabbed through it?

He spoke again "You look confused...that's probably because of the concussion. You fell over, remember?"

Hermione shook her head, and regretted it instantly "Oww," She muttered.

"You bumped into me, and smacked you head on the ground. You could barely stand up so I brought you here...any of this sounding familiar?"

She sat up and looked around the Hospital Wing - it was empty other than her and Malfoy.

"I definitely don't remember that - you were the one who bumped into me," He let out a short laugh and shook his head.

"If you say so! Listen, I've got to go soon...," He leaned forward in his chair, looking hesitant "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," She smiled gratefully. "Where are you going?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"The match," he replied.

"The match. Wait...how long have I been asleep?"

He looked down sheepishly "It's Saturday afternoon...turns out I bumped into you pretty hard,"

She had been asleep for almost a day...had Malfoy been here the entire time? What about Harry and Ron...had they come to see her? Maybe they hadn't even realised she had been gone. Now she practically lived with him, it seemed she spent more of her time with Malfoy that her friends.

He stood up and made to leave, but Hermione ripped back the covers of her bed and jumped up, swaying slightly.

"I'm coming with you," She wasn't going to miss Harry, Ron and Ginny playing just because she was stupid enough to get herself knocked out. Malfoy grabbed her arm and stopped her, mid-stride, towards the doors.

"There's no way I'm letting you leave this room - you've been unconscious for a bloody day!" His jaw tensed. She spun around to face him.

"Excuse me Draco Malfoy, but you don't have the authority to _'let me' _do anything. I've said I'm going, so I'm going!" She said, trying to pull her arm away. He let her go, but Hermione's balance was off. Time seemed to move in slow motion as she began falling backwards. Malfoy's reflexes kicked in and he reached forward gripping her arms and tugging her towards him. Her balance over-shot again and she ended up with her head pressed against his chest, their arms around each other. They stayed there for a few moments, until Malfoy muttered something in her ear.

"Are you okay?" His voice was barely audible and Hermione could feel the pulse of his heartbeat pounding through his robes.

She slowly drew back, and nodded her head. Out of the blue, Hermione realised that her feet we cold, she looked down to see that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

"I'm fine...we should go," She looked around subtly, trying to spot her shoes. Malfoy walked past her back towards the bed. Hermione stayed still, trying to work out what had just happened between them. Her heart was racing, the same way his had. He walked back over to her, carrying her shoes in his hands. Hermione suddenly panicked, hoping they didn't smell.

She silently reprimanded herself - what a stupid thing to think. All though she bit her lip nervously anyway when he opened his mouth, worried about what he might say.

"Here you go," He avoided her eyes, and turned away as soon as she took them off him, heading towards the doors once more. She sat down on the bed and slipped on one of her shoes.

Malfoy turned back around "I'll see you after the match?" He said. Hermione wondered whether she could hear hope in his voice.

She nodded "Sure,"


	11. Chapter 11

"Did you see that first goal?!"

"Yeah Gin, you were really great!" Hermione pulled her in for a hug.

Gryffindor had won easily, and Ginny was mostly to thank for that. She had scored at least 70 points alone, and Harry was amazing as usual, catching the snitch before the Hufflepuff seeker even spotted it.

"You're definitely coming to the victory party tonight, yeah?" Ginny tried to sound serious, but she couldn't stop grinning.

Hermione hesitated, no longer sure that she felt up to it.

Ginny picked up on her uncertainty "Please come! We've all been working so hard - you especially. You need to let your hair down once in a while. Maybe have a couple of drinks, maybe meet some new friends..." Ginny hinted not-so-subtly. Hermione laughed nervously.

"We'll see Gin, anyway, I need to get to the library, I've got loads of Defence Against the Dark Arts to do. I might see you later," Ginny nodded and Hermione made her way back to the castle.

/

Hermione power-walked back to her dormitory. She had lost track of time studying in the Library and realised the Gryffindor party must have started at least half an hour ago.

She went straight to her room, flung open the closet and grabbed one of her new dresses. She had splashed out over the summer on some new clothes and was excited to finally start wearing some of them. This dress was one of her favourites - it was a cute, strapless dark green party dress. As she slipped it on she wondered whether it was a bit much, but Ginny had told her to let her hair down - besides, it was time to have a bit of fun. Although Hermione didn't _actually _let her hair down, and she spent a good fifteen minutes using magic to make sure every wisp was pinned the right way. She twisted the wild mess onto the back of her head, leaving a curl loose to frame either side of her face. Deciding she wanted to be sparkly tonight, she weaved a few strands of silver into her hair. Magic made getting ready so much easier!

She tugged a pair of black heels on and walked out of her room, only to see Malfoy stood behind the kitchen counter, staring blankly at a frying pan.

"Are you cooking?" Hermione could barely believe what she was seeing.

BANG. He slammed the pan down on the counter, snapping his head up.

He took in the sight of her, his eyes scanning down and back up, causing Hermione to blush slightly.

"No, ermm, I was just..." He picked up the frying pan and looked at it again. He glanced back up at Hermione, saw her expectant look and put it back on the counter.

"You're going to the Gryffindor party then?" He raised his eyebrows. She nodded, ignoring the sneer in his voice as he mentioned her house.

"You do remember that you were unconscious less than eight hours ago?" He said.

She bit her lip. He was right - she had forgotten. She had also forgotten how he stayed with her.

"Thank you for that by the way - for taking me to the Hospital Wing, and waiting till I woke up..." She trailed off, still awkwardly standing in her doorway. She crossed the room, making to leave, when she suddenly felt all her hair fall down around her shoulders. She glanced over at Malfoy who was pointing his wand straight at her head.

"Why did you do that?" She asked in disbelief - thinking of the fifteen minutes work out the window.

"It looks better," He shrugged.

/

By the time she got to the Gryffindor Common Room, the party was in full swing. The music was blaring and most people were already tipsy. She found Ginny pouring herself a drink.

"Hermione, you look great!" She shouted over the music.

"You too Gin!" Ginny did look fabulous. She was wearing a strappy red dress with crimson lipstick and heels to match.

The girls made their way through the crowd, managing to find Dean, Harry, Seamus and Ron somewhere in the throng of people. Most of the conversation was about the afternoon's match, and in all honesty Hermione hadn't been paying much attention. She had still felt dizzy after banging her head, and there were a few times she thought she was going to be sick.

Hermione danced a little and had a laugh with her friends, and despite Ginny's attempts, she only drank water. After an hour or so, her head began to hurt again and blaming the music, Hermione stepped outside into the corridor, considering whether to call it a night and go back to her dorm.

"You know I like you, right?"

Hermione heard a slow, drunk drawl behind her, and turned to see Ron clutching a cup that he was spilling the contents of all over the corridor floor.

"I just can't figure you out! That's the problem - you're too bloody confusing," Ron grumbled as he walked towards her. He sounded confused and desperate and Hermione didn't like where this was heading.

She shook her head, not wanting to talk about things between them whilst he was wasted. "Goodnight Ron,"

"Hey, Hermione don't walk away from me!"

"Ron you've had too much to drink, just go back to the party - I'll talk to you tomorrow," She made her way towards the staircase, but he ran down after he grabbing her arm.

"Wait -"

"Well, well, fancy seeing you here Weasel," A deep voice came from round the corner. Malfoy walked out with a sneer on his face "How's the fam-" He cut off when his eyes dropped down to Ron's hand grabbing Hermione. His jaw tensed.

"What do you think you're doing?" The sneer was gone. His tone actually frightened Hermione a little, but Malfoy's eyes were fixated on Ron, as he closed in on the two of the them.

"Having a _private _conversation, now if you'll excuse us," He pulled Hermione away from Malfoy, and down the staircase, but the Head Boy followed.

"Okay Ron, that's enough. This conversation is over," She tugged away from his grip, noticing the red mark he had left. Malfoy saw it too.

"This doesn't look like a conversation. This looks like you're too drunk to even notice or care that she blatantly wants you to leave her alone. Piss off back to your mud hut Weasley," He shoved Ron, who tripped backwards down a step. Seeing Malfoy about to advance on Ron again Hermione stepped between them, putting her hands on Ron's chest.

"How much have you had to drink?" Her tone was firm, almost verging on anger, but she tried to keep herself calm, breathing deeply.

"Quite a lot...," he mumbled. Hermione sighed.

"You should go to bed, I'll see you tomorrow...okay?"

Ron nodded, the shove seeming to have sobered him up a little "Yeah, yeah sure. Sorry. Are you going back to your dorm then?"

"Yeah, I think so,"

Ron nodded again as he walked past Malfoy back up the stairs towards the Common Room.

/

"What the hell was that?"

Malfoy rounded on her as soon as Ron was out of sight.

"Nothing to do with you," Hermione began walking back to the room. She hated the distance in her relationship with Ron now, especially when things like that happened, but she didn't want to talk about it.

"He actually grabbed you - I saw him. He spoke to you as if..." The sentence trailed off as he replayed the scene in his head.

"Merlin knows how much he really had to drink, but even if he was off his head -"

Hermione stopped and turned to Malfoy "And how much have you had to drink?" She asked accusingly.

Nothing. At least that was what Malfoy wanted to say - but she wouldn't believe him, even if it was the truth.

"A couple of fire whiskies - but I'm a Slytherin. I can hold my drink much better than the Gryffindor light weights," She carried on walking, and he fell into stride next to her.

She noticed him eyeing her cautiously - perhaps he wasn't as subtle as he thought.

"I'm not upset or anything." She was, he could hear it in her voice. "Ron always acts like that when he's drunk...but he's always blamed the alcohol the next day. That's the first time he's ever really apologised to me like that,"

Malfoy couldn't believe his ears. The thought of Weasley treating her like that on numerous occasions nauseated him. Who knows how far the prick would have gone if hadn't been there? When he spoke it was through gritted teeth, trying to keep himself calm.

"How many _apologies_ does he owe you?"

Hermione could feel him tense next to her, and paused, just outside the dormitory entrance. Tentatively she placed her hand on his arm.

"I know you mean well, but honestly I can take care of myself - especially when it comes to dealing with Ron,"

"Of course you can," He replied instantly. He sounded so assured, Hermione looked up at him in surprise. His eyes were flashing with rage...or maybe that was something to do with the drink, she couldn't tell.

"Listen - I know you think you can fend for yourself - and I don't doubt you can. But however close you think you are, you need to stay away from jerks like him,"

Without realising it, he had somehow moved closer to her. Malfoy couldn't understand this fierce protection he felt like he owed her. If he weren't here talking to her, he would be ripping Weasley's head apart right now. The way she spoke about the ginger annoyed him even more. Even with the way he treated her, even though she was streaks ahead of him intellectually, there was still a tone of affection in her voice when she said his name. Was this...jealousy of Weaselbee?

"I never thought I'd hear you telling me to stay away from 'jerks'" Hermione's mind was somewhere else completely. After the way Malfoy had treated her for so long, all of a sudden he decided to be civil, even kind to her. Thinking it over made it seem even more ridiculous. Draco Malfoy was telling her that Ron Weasley was trouble. She almost pinched herself to check she wasn't dreaming.

"Yeah well, things change..." He replied, turning to open the door, gesturing for Hermione to go in.

Hermione suddenly thought about Harry, and the Order. What was she doing talking to Malfoy like this? She was supposed to get information out of him, but she just wasn't up for it. And after what had just happened she didn't want Malfoy getting angry again.

"I think I'm going to bed...it's been a long day, to say the least," Malfoy didn't reply, so she wandered over to her room, and opened her bedroom door.

"By the way I like what you're wearing,"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up and she turned around to face him.

"You look good in Slytherin colours," he winked.

Looking down at her dress, she realised he was right - green dress, and silver in her hair.

She turned back around and walked into her room without replying, but not before he saw her blush.

**A/N: Quite a long Chapter this time - hope you guys liked it! **


	12. Chapter 12

The leaves began to change before October had finished. Autumn was coming quickly to Hogwarts, bringing with it the excitement of Halloween - which was only a week away, and a nearing trip to Hogsmede. Everyone was thankful for the clear skies and lack of rain there had been since the school year had started, but the air was shifting. It was colder; sharper. More and more students were wearing scarves - the red, green, yellow and blue brightening up the school's halls. And as the school year progressed the concern for danger was lowering. Students were talking louder, going outside more often, even the Professors were looking less nervous, taking less cautious glances around the halls. Yet the Headmistress was still wary. The longer the safety went on, the higher the threat of attack became.

Hermione was practically the only Gryffindor Seventh year in the Great Hall the morning after the party. Everyone else was still sleeping off their hangovers. She grabbed a piece of toast and began smothering on some strawberry jam, thinking over the events of the night before.

She couldn't believe she managed to let Ginny convince her to go, the party was such a letdown - if anything it just made the gaping void of awkwardness between her and Ron bigger. She was still mad at him for grabbing her and yelling at her, and was planning on giving him the silent treatment, but she couldn't help but wonder if he was ever going to get over her. How could he be going out with Lavender, and still behave like that towards Hermione?

Taking a sip of her orange juice she glanced up towards the Slytherin table on the opposite side of the Hall, where Malfoy had just sat down. Things were just getting even more complicated with him. Soon enough the Order would be on her back about getting information out of him. She hadn't even tried since Harry asked her. They still needed to find the ingredients for Potions tomorrow - so she would give it a try then. She couldn't resist from looking at him again. She still had no explanation for why he was letting her in; no explanation as to why she was doing the same for him. But she enjoyed his company. However much of a jackass he was sometimes, there was something about being around him that finally made her feel alive. He made her feel good about herself.

Thinking about the way he had looked at her last night made her blush right then and there in the middle of the Great Hall. And there was no denying he was able to keep up with her in conversation - whether it was about their studies, or it was just banter. It wasn't as though he was horrible to look at either. His shoulders had broadened out over the past few years as a result of all that Quidditch and when he spoke, she couldn't help but get butterflies in her stomach. She looked across at him once more, studying the way his messy, un-brushed, blonde hair fell across his eyes - those gorgeous, silver eyes. She stared straight into them...and became aware that they were staring back.

In that moment Hermione realised...she was falling for Draco Malfoy.

/

Someone was saying something, but the conversation just became background noise. She was staring at him and he was staring back. Unable to draw his eyes away - it was as though he had hypnotised her. Suddenly his view was blocked and he watched as the Weasley girl sat down opposite Granger, obstructing her from his eye-line.

"Draco, are you even listening to me?" Pansy sighed next to him.

"What?" he replied, lost in the thought of what happened last night.

"I wanted to know if you had found all your ingredients for Potions?" She asked again.

"Oh...errm, no. We haven't even looked for them yet," He said, absentmindedly.

"Well, you best get a move on, we've got Slughorn tomorrow," And with that she got up and let, leaving Malfoy sat on his own.

He didn't notice however. He was too busy trying to figure out if there was a way of getting Granger from telling him any useful information about the Order. He was positive she would see straight through him if he wasn't subtle enough, but he needed to get information - the Dark Lord would soon be expecting results. He was being weak. Being around _her_ made him weak. If he was going to get any credit he had to stop letting her get to him. For some reason, every time he thought about questioning her, it was as though something at the back of his throat wouldn't allow the words to come out. All it took was a look into her deep, brown eyes and he'd completely forget what to say or how to speak. He remembered the way she looked last night. That short green dress, the silver in her hair, the look on her face when he told her she looked good...

After last night, he knew the chances of getting her drunk and revealing secrets were slim...but how much could she really know? If last night told him anything it was that her relationship with one third of the supposed '_Golden Trio' _was in pieces.

To his surprise, the though brought him comfort. Weasley was a dick, and he had told her exactly what he thought - she was best off away from him. And if that made things easier for him, it was even better. Maybe he could do a similar thing with Potter? The bigger the distance in her relationship with the Ginger, the closer she and Malfoy had been getting, but was there a way of pulling her and Potter apart? However he was going to get something out of her, he needed to do it now.

He got up, swaggered across the Hall to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to the Weasley girl.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The ginger said to him

"Granger," He greeted her, with a small smirk, ignoring the girl he was sat next to.

"Malfoy..." Hermione hesitated, thrown off by his confidence "What do you want?" She asked.

"Meet me in the courtyard at three, we have a Potions assignment to do," he winked at her, stood up and walked away, leaving the two girls gobsmacked.

"What the HELL was that all about?" He heard the Weasley say to Granger as he left. He was going to complete this mission - one way or another.


	13. Chapter 13

Harry had planned to meet Pansy at 9:30, and knew she'd have a go at him if he was late. After dragging himself out of bed he pulled on an old hoodie, grabbed his wand, and the Potions ingredients list and jogged down to the Great Hall. He reached the doors just as Pansy walked out.

"Hey, are you ready to go?"

She looked him up and down and burst out laughing. "Merlin above! You look like crap," She giggled.

Harry sighed. Pansy could be a bit coarse sometimes, but he was starting to get used to it. She was actually quite pretty when she smiled.

"Okay, okay...I had a late night, let's just get going," Harry couldn't help but smile too. He was never that great with hangovers - he hadn't even drank that much.

She carried on laughing until they reached the Training Grounds, and Harry tried unsuccessfully to shush her whenever she came close to snorting. They reached the grass and he looked down at the list.

"Right, we only need to find one Flobberworm and Hermione told me there are loads around here. She said they're long as well, so it shouldn't take us long to find one" He bent down and began looking in the grass.

"And the know-it-all is never wrong of course," Pansy rolled her eyes, crouching down next to him. Harry turned to her.

"Hey, don't talk about Hermione like that," He snapped.

"Sorry - didn't realise she was your girlfriend," She scoffed.

"The only reason you're mocking Hermione's intelligence is because you're jealous,"

Pansy's usual pout disappeared and she suddenly stood up and walked away. Harry hadn't realised how touchy she was when it came to school work. He knew she struggled with it, but she usually brushed things off so easily...

"Pansy wait!" he called, jogging after her. She whirled around.

"Look Potter, I'm only putting up with you because Slughorn wouldn't let me swap, and I don't care enough to waste my energy on convincing him. I'm not going to stand here and listen to you call me stupid,"

Harry frowned at her "I don't think you're stupid,"

"Yeah, right - you know you're just like Draco. You have to be the best all the time, so you just put other people down to make yourself feel better," Harry didn't seem to be listening, and this just made her more angry. "Potter at least look at me when I'm -" Harry cut her off.

"Pansy, shut up and look!" He pointed down at the ground "I think that's a Flobberworm,"

/

Hermione had been sat on one of the benches in the Northern Courtyard for almost twenty minutes, when she gave up waiting for Malfoy and went to find the ingredients herself. She made her way to the Training Grounds, and met Harry and Pansy heading back towards the castle. She had seen Pansy leave the hall that morning - they must have been looking for hours.

"Hey Hermione," Harry and Pansy said in chorus.

"Hi Harry...erm, hello Pansy," Hermione had never heard a pleasant word from the Slytherin girl before.

"Are you going to find your ingredients?" Harry asked her. She nodded.

"Where's Malfoy?"

"Merlin knows," She looked at Pansy "If you see him back at the castle would you tell him he's infuriating and I'll find the bloody ingredients myself," And with that Hermione stormed off.

She found the Flobberworms easily, and with a trip down to the Black Lake she found the Salamanders in no time. The only thing left was the Asphodel - they needed its powdered root for the Potion. She had read that it grew in the Hogwarts Grounds, but she had no idea where. It was part of the lily family and Hermione knew it was associated with death and the underworld, but there weren't any graves at Hogwarts...except...

/

When Hermione got there, a figure was standing several metres away from the White Tomb, which overlooked the lake. His white hair matched the grave they were both staring at. Hermione slowly approached him.

"Asphodel is supposedly the food of the dead," His voice was hoarse and quiet. "I remember reading that in our third year - the day you punched me actually," he let out a short, harsh laugh.

Hermione had never been to Dumbledore's tomb. His death was emotional for her, and she grieved for her old Headmaster. Yet for some reason she had always felt as though Dumbledore was in a different battle from the rest of the Order. That they were all chess pieces in whatever game he was playing - even Harry.

Malfoy turned around to look at her, he was holding the white flowers in his hands. She made her way towards him and took them off him. He looked down at her little beaded bag which was full of ingredients.

"You were late, so I got fed up and went and found them all myself," She said remembering she was annoyed with him.

"Yeah - sorry about that," he muttered, turning back around to look at the tomb.

She shoved the flowers into the bag and went to stand in front of him. His eyes were fixated on the grave.

"Why are you here Malfoy - and don't tell me it's because of the flowers, because I know it's not,"

He looked down at her.

"Do you - " He knew the words, just ask her about the Order, or Harry, anything. But he couldn't make himself. Instead, another thought popped into his head, something he never dared ask his parents. "Do you think they ever realise that we're just kids?"

"No," Hermione replied. She didn't have to think about the answer. She had thought the same thing to herself so many times. That's all they were - kids. Children born at the wrong time.

"Come on Malfoy,"

She took his hand and lead him towards the castle. He followed willingly, as if he was stuck in a trance.


	14. Chapter 14

"Sugar mice," Hermione said. The gargoyle turned and the spiral staircase to the Headmistresses office appeared. Hermione and Malfoy began making their way up.

"What did the note say again?" He asked her for the tenth time.

"I've already told you _'Miss Granger, please can you and Mr Malfoy come to my office as early as it is possible for you both. Professor McGonagall.' _ It hasn't changed from five minutes ago," She replied, rolling her eyes. A second-year had brought her the note less than ten minutes ago in Potions.

"What does she want though?" He said, running his hands through his hair. Hermione watched as each strand fell back into place.

"Granger...any ideas?" He said, making her realise she was just staring at him.

"Oh, no - it's probably just some Head duties or something," They reached the top of the staircase and were facing a large wooden door.

"It sounded important...but if it's important surely she wouldn't just send a note?" Malfoy carried on speculating.

"Malfoy - would you shut up? We'll find out in a minute, so calm down," She shook her head exasperated and knocked three times.

"Come in," She heard McGonagall's voice from inside. Malfoy pushed open the heavy door and they walked in. The office seemed smaller than Hermione remembered...or maybe she was just bigger. She looked around, the floor to ceiling bookcase catching her eye. Malfoy gave her a tug when she stopped to gawk at it. They walked up the steps to see the Headmistress sat behind a large wooden desk.

"Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy - glad you could both make it," She greeted them with a curt nod, and gestured for them to sit down, which they did so.

"I'll get straight to the point," McGonagall carried on "As you are probably aware, today is the third-year's first visit to Hogsmeade and they are usually accompanied by myself and several other teachers. Unfortunately I have many things that need urgently attending to, and Professor Flitwick is currently not feeling very well..." Hermione had seen the Charms teacher running through the corridors earlier looking rather green.

"As no other teachers are available, it has fallen to you as Head Boy and Head Girl - " Hermione gave Malfoy a smug look, which McGonagall seemed not to notice " - to take the responsibility of escorting the students to Hogsmeade. Is this a problem for either of you?"

They both shook their heads.

"Good. The third-years shall be gathering in the North Courtyard in fifteen minutes, so I suggest you go down now and wait for them,"

"Yes Headmistress," Hermione and Malfoy said in chorus. They stood up, and made their way towards the door, when McGonagall called to them.

"I don't need to remind you that you will be representing the school..." She looked Malfoy up and down "That means nothing less than impeccable behaviour,"

/

The third-years were so excited they didn't even realise there weren't any teachers around, and they were so loud that none of them heard Hermione calling.

"Okay everyone!" She yelled, but no-one seemed to notice.

"Listen up!" She tried again, but with no luck. She turned to Malfoy helplessly, he just sighed.

"SHUT IT!" He shouted over the din. The students were instantly silent, even Hermione stood next to him jumped a bit.

"Right, we're in charge today, so you'll do exactly as we say...and just remember we can give out punishments just as quickly as the teachers can, so you'll do as we say," he threatened. Hermione thought she almost heard one of the kids actually gulp.

"Malfoy - that's not really true," She said to him quietly.

"Yeah, but they don't know that," He whispered back, winking. Her stomach flipped and she felt her cheeks heat up.

"Ermm, I don't really know what to do now Granger..." He murmured to her, and Hermione took charge.

"Okay everyone - follow me!" She called out to the group. "You can bring up the rear," She said to Malfoy who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Just make sure no-one gets left behind, okay?" She said, and marched her way to the front of the group.

/

They finally reached Hogsmeade and Hermione told the third-years where they were allowed to go, and when to meet them back by the bridge. They ran off, dispersing quickly into groups, and Hermione and Malfoy spent the first few hours following groups round the different shops and giving students directions to different places.

"Remember the first time we came here in our third-year?" Hermione said to Malfoy as they wandered through Zonko's Joke Shop.

"Yeah...it seems as though it was a lifetime ago," He replied. "You know what, this is boring, do you want to go somewhere else?" He asked her.

She hesitated "Actually...there is a bookstore down the road and I wondered if they had...you know what never mind..." She trailed off, but Malfoy was already making his way to the door.

"You probably won't like it - I'll just be looking at books," She said to him, as he held the door open for her, letting the cold breeze sweep through the shop.

"Trust me - anything is better than this," he replied.

/

She wandered round the store for almost half an hour, browsing at the different books, occasionally asking Malfoy to get ones down that she couldn't reach. Every now and then she looked at him through the corner of her eye, worried that he was about to complain about being bored, but he looked just as eager to look at the books as she was. He'd look over her shoulder to see what she was looking at, and he even grabbed one himself, grinning as he read the first few pages. Eventually Hermione decided which ones to buy and went over to the counter, paid for them, happy to find out they could be delivered to Hogwarts so she didn't have to carry them all the way back to the castle.

She found Malfoy lingering by the door.

"Are you ready to go?" He said to her. She nodded in reply and they stepped outside into the cold. As they did Hermione realised that it had started lightly snowing since they had gone into the bookstore. She stuffed her hands into her coat pockets as they made their way down the street; snowflakes falling cold and white on to her hair.

"It's a bit early for snow isn't it?" She said to Malfoy, but he wasn't listening. She looked over at him and realised he was staring at the snow in awe. He no longer looked like the young man he had become, but like a little boy seeing snow for the first time. Hermione couldn't help but laugh, she had never seen anyone look at snow falling with such a magical amazement.

Malfoy heard her giggling and turned to her "What?"

"You know, you're full of surprises Malfoy," She said.

"What do you mean?" As Hermione thought about her answer, she realised that he was different in more ways than she had first thought.

"I've always know you were clever, but for someone whose main priority is, well..."

"Is what? Voldemort?" He said angrily, his mood changing suddenly.

"Yes Malfoy, don't pretend it isn't the truth," Hermione replied, her own temper building.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a short alleyway.

"That's still how you think about me?" For some reason her low opinion of him hurt more than he cared to admit. How could he make her see that he wasn't just another one of Voldemort's Death Eaters? Maybe if he just told he the truth...

"I thought that you'd...maybe that I'd somehow...you know Granger, you're not like anyone I've ever known. And for some unimaginable reason I feel as though I can be myself around you. It's as though when I'm with you I finally seem to be able to let go of everyone's preconceived ideas of me, and actually be Draco," He finished his speech.

It didn't quite come out the way he had hoped, but before he could take it back, without any warning Hermione stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. He pulled away and took a step back, dumbfounded.

"What was that?" He asked in shock. Hermione was humiliated, she had acted before her brain had processed the thought, and now he was standing there looking at her as though she was crazy. She put her hand to her lips.

"I don't know why I did that Malfoy. Just...just forget it. I'm sorry, alright? I just thought..." Fixing her eyes on her shoes, she had never been so stupid or embarrassed.

"Granger..."

"Look, please forget it, I'm an idiot, don't tell anyone, please-"

"Hermione, calm down," She stared at him in surprise. That was the first time he had ever said her name.

"You've never called me Hermione before," Her gaze trailed back down to the floor.

"Well it is your name," He replied, putting his hands on her cheeks, forcing her to look straight into his eyes.

"Hermione...don't worry, I'll forget about it...as long as you don't forget this," He leaned down towards her, and holding her face in his hands, he kissed her properly.

Suddenly everything was right. The world shifted under their feet; the two worlds colliding the same way their lips had, and all the missing puzzle pieces finally fit into place. It was infinite and thunderous and dazzling. And yet all at the same time it was soft, and quiet and gentle. He held her so delicately, it was almost as if there was a danger of her shattering. Her lips parted under his and her hands found their way into his hair. He wrapped his arms around her waist, practically lifting her off the ground.

When they finally parted, neither could understand what had just happened. Hermione's mind was clouded over, unsure of anyway to respond to what had just happened between them.

Malfoy simply stared at her. And in that moment realised he had never seen anyone look more beautiful. Her eyes were dancing with light bouncing off the freshly fallen snow, and her cheeks were red - whether it was from the cold, or from the kiss he had no clue, but he didn't care. Reaching down he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, feeling her slightly shiver under his cold touch. He brushed her cheek before bringing his hand back down to his side, causing her to blush even more.

"Malfoy I- " Her voice was shaky, but he interrupted her before she could finish.

"Don't say that,"

She looked at him perplexed "What?"

"Call me Draco - please," He said quietly.

"Okay Draco..." He smiled, liking the way it sounded coming from her lips "Did you...why did you do that?" She asked him, breathlessly.

"There's something here Hermione," He gestured the space between them, but he wasn't really sure himself why he had kissed her. "I mean, it was okay wasn't it?" He said, suddenly uncertain of himself.

"Oh crap," She said loudly.

"What?" He was shocked by her reply, had he made a mistake in kissing her? But she had kissed him first - which meant she must have wanted him to.

Hermione suddenly realised her mistake "No, no...not you. We're supposed to be meeting the students back at the bridge any minute," She let out a breathy laugh.

"Oh good...because 'crap' is the last thing I expect to hear after a kiss from Draco Malfoy," He replied with a smirk.

"Come on - we have to go," She said, trying not to grin too widely. She turned around, making her way back towards the main street.

"Hermione, wait," He caught her arm, spinning her round. He took a step towards her and ever so slowly he leant down and placed the lightest of kisses on her lips, causing his heart to relive the sensation all over again. She smiled timidly, and he laced his fingers through hers.

"Come on, let's go,"


	15. Chapter 15

They held hands until they reached the bridge and saw the younger students waiting for them. They hastily separated and attempted to act normally for the walk back, although Malfoy could see the pink blush remaining in Hermione's cheeks when he glanced over to look at her out of the corner of his eye.

She would occasionally looked up and fleetingly catch his eye. Hermione's heart was still racing, but her mind began wandering as they made their way back to the castle. What was she doing? She had just kissed Draco Malfoy...and he had kissed her back. Did he like her - or was he just playing some sort of game?

That was when Hermione realised that _she _was the one playing the game. She had promised Harry that she would get close to Malfoy to find out information. If he found out that was the reason she initially put up with him, who knows how he would react? But she couldn't deny that she liked him - a lot. And that kiss...she tried to suppress a smile as she thought about it again.

Draco was hoping to talk to Hermione as soon as they reached the castle, but the Gryffindor third-years were also on the top floor and stood just in front of them on the staircase. They made their way to the Heads' dormitory in silence - waiting for another private moment together.

As soon as the door shut behind them Draco's lips were on hers, soft and tender again. Hermione drew back slowly - uncertain of what to say to him. She looked at his silver eyes burning bright

"Draco I don't know why you're doing this, but - "

He placed his hands on her shoulders, interrupting her "Hermione, I know how this must seem to you. As if I've got some sort of hidden agenda, but can I be truly honest with you?"

She nodded tentatively.

"I think I'm really falling for you," he said simply.

He took her hand and led her over to the sofa, taking his wand out of his pocket and lighting the fire. Hermione sat down, slipped her shoes off and tucked her legs up. Draco sat down next to her and leaned it to kiss her again, but Hermione put her hand to his lips, and he paused frowning. She dropped her hand.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"There's something I need to tell you," She replied quietly.

He studied her face, looking concerned "Okay..."

Hermione hesitated, unsure of how to say the words. Maybe he wouldn't understand...

"Come on Hermione, it can't be that bad," he said, a small encouraging smile on his face. She took a deep breath.

"We weren't exactly best friends before Draco, and..." She paused. Come on Hermione - just say it, she thought to herself.

"Basically Harry and the rest of the Order asked me to take advantage of the fact that we're Head Boy and Girl, and get close to you and find out information about the Death Eaters or Voldemort. But I haven't. I haven't even tried - for some reason I didn't want to, maybe it was because all along I liked you...but whenever I thought about it, it felt like I would be betraying you...and I didn't want to do that..." She trailed of, out of breath.

Draco was staring at her silently. Hermione didn't know what to do so she started fiddling with her hands.

Malfoy couldn't believe what he had just heard. The similarities were unbelievable. They had both been told to use each other - and they both had chosen not to. This was the problem with the Order. Everyone thought they were so good, as though they were the heroes, but hadn't they asked the same of Hermione as the Death Eaters had of him?

And now she had admitted it all to him.

"Draco - please say something. I know it seems as though I was doing this because of the Order, but I wasn't, and I hope my honesty has proved that to you," Hermione said quietly, his silence making her nervous.

"Hermione...I..." And that was how close he got to telling her.

The stakes were different for him. If Voldemort found out - he would be killed, there was no doubt about that. And it wouldn't be quick either, He would make sure that Draco suffered. He couldn't tell Hermione, he just couldn't.

"I told you before Hermione, I'm here because I'm falling for you - and if it's okay with you, I'd like you to be my girlfriend,"

"Draco Malfoy - are you blushing?" She giggled, giving him a nudge.

Draco ginned back at her, but he couldn't suppress the shame he felt at not admitting the truth to her.

"Draco, there's nothing more I want than to be with you...but you know we can't tell anyone," He knew she was right, but that wasn't going to stop them.

"If I could I would walk around holding your hand through the corridors and kiss you in the middle of the Great Hall, and I'm sorry to say this - but I agree with you. But they're not going to stop us being together in private," He stroked her cheek and placed a kiss on her hair. Drawing back to look into her beautiful eyes he noticed the blush once more rising to her cheeks - there wasn't a sight he loved more. Hermione stomach suddenly rumbled, and they both laughed at the sudden change in mood.

"Let's make dinner," Hermione stood up and wandered over to the kitchen, leaving Draco alone on the sofa with his crushing guilt.


	16. Chapter 16

The next two weeks were bliss.

Draco and Hermione spent as much time as they could together in their dormitory. The best part of being Draco's girlfriend (Hermione still wasn't used to that word) wasn't the kissing...although that was pretty amazing. Hermione most enjoyed simply talking to him. The more time they spent together the more she began to learn about him - like how he only liked dark chocolate, and how he first rode a broom when he was three...that was also the first time he fell off a broom. Other things she learnt without him telling her. She noticed the way he bit his lip in concentration when writing an essay and how the first thing he did after a day of lessons was take his shoes off. One day she heard him humming a song she had been singing in the shower that morning, and she couldn't forget the victory dance he had done after managing to flip a pancake - she had laughed so hard there were tears in her eyes.

Hermione couldn't believe how happy she was, her head was filled with him, but so was her time and her friends were starting to get suspicious.

"Hermione, where have you been for the past week? We've barely seen you," Harry said to her one morning.

"Yeah we miss you," Ginny chipped in "And whenever we do see you, you're always really distracted,"

Hermione tried to concentrate on what they were saying but she couldn't stop thinking about Draco - it was becoming ridiculous.

"I'm sorry guys, I've just had loads of work recently. I promise I'll try to see you all more this week. I've just been really swamped," She hated lying to her friends, but it wasn't as though she could tell them what she had really been doing.

"We're going to Hogsmeade this weekend if you want to come?" Ginny asked.

"I'd love to - are you planning on going anywhere in particular?" Hermione replied.

"Not really, we're probably just going to the Hogshead,"

"That sounds like a plan," Hermione smiled. Her time had been so filled up by Draco that she hadn't noticed how much she had been neglecting her friends, and it would be nice to go out, even if it was just to Hogsmeade.

/

The following evening Hermione and Draco were sat on the dormitory floor in front of the fireplace with a deck of cards. She was trying to teach him how to play _Snap_.

"How come the people on the cards are still?" He peered at the Queen of Diamonds.

Hermione giggled, she was becoming used to his questions about muggle objects "They aren't real Kings and Queens - they're just pictures," She explained patiently.

He still looked suspicious, but he put the card back on the pile of cards in the middle of the floor.

She told him the rules and eventually they started playing. Every time she won a round he would complain that he didn't understand why they had to hit the cards as well as say _Snap_, but Hermione slowed down and soon enough he was winning.

"I am the champion of Slap!" He yelled when he finally won, throwing his cards all over the floor...she didn't mention that he was getting the name of the game wrong.

"What next?" She asked gathering the cards up with a sweep of her wand "Whist, or Happy Families?" But Draco didn't answer, he was staring at the carpet.

"I wish you could meet my family," he replied quietly.

Hermione paused, not knowing what to say.

He looked up at her "I mean...maybe not my Father, but my Mother...she'd adore how clever you are, and witty, and kind. I'd love to introduce you to her, if she didn't..." He trailed off.

"If she didn't know who I was," Hermione finished the sentence for him.

"It's ridiculous Hermione. Maybe we should just tell everyone?" His volume was rising, and she could see the anger flashing in his eyes "I mean - it isn't fair. They can't tell us what to do!"

"Yes they can Draco, and you know that," She tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down "Do you really think I don't know what would happen if you walked up to Voldemort and the Death Eaters and told them you're dating Hermione Granger?"

He let out a sigh "I'm just tired that's all," For a moment Draco couldn't work out whether he was talking about hiding his relationship with Hermione, or the truth that he was hiding from _her._

Hermione dropped her hand, suddenly feeling very awkward. Draco looked over at her, confused at her downcast eyes. Thinking over what he had said - he realised his mistake.

"No, no Hermione I'm not tired with you - I'm just tired with hiding this. I don't know about you, but I've been so happy these past few weeks..." It made her smile knowing that he felt the same way "And I don't want it to seem as though I'm hiding you,"

"Even though you are," Hermione replied.

"Even though I am," he said shamefully.

"Draco - I hope you're not saying all this because you feel as though you need to protect me," She said, looking him in the eye.

"I'm not trying to...actually you're right," He suddenly realised that was the exact reason he had stopped himself from telling anyone up until now. "Of course I'm trying to protect you Hermione," She knew him so well.

"You know, I think you're the one who needs more protecting than me," She said jokingly in an attempt to change the mood. He looked at her expectantly.

"I am a brave Gryffindor after all," she teased, unafraid to mock herself now.

Remembering something she had said a few days ago, an idea suddenly popped into Draco's head. He raised his eyebrows smirking at her with a gleam in his eye that made her suspicious

"_Brave Gryffindor? _We'll see about that,"

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the really sweet reviews! I love reading what you all think of the story so far/where you want to see it go next! :)**


	17. Chapter 17

"Not in a million years,"

"Come on, it's not that bad,"

"There is no way I'm doing it,"

"Come on, I'll be right next to you,"

Draco held out the broomstick towards her, but she folded her arms defensively.

"I don't think you realise how dangerous riding one of those things is!" She squeaked, but Draco just laughed and picked up his own broom with his other hand.

"Look, I'll be less than a metre away from you - I promise you won't fall," He tried to say it seriously, but she was so adorable that he couldn't help grinning. Hermione grabbed the old broomstick off him.

"Just take a look at this thing - it could snap at any moment, who knows how long it's been sat in those changing rooms?"

"Right - how about a compromise - you can have mine," He held his brand new model out to her.

Hermione was a little shocked "Really?" She asked - knowing how important his broomstick was to him.

"Sure," He replied casually.

She lay the old broom down on the floor and took his much newer model broom from him, looking it over. She held it out in front of her trying to work out how to get on it.

"Errm..." She looked at him uncertainly, and Draco laughed again.

"Okay, you may need a little more help than I thought," He went and stood behind her, grabbed hold of the broom and swung a leg over it.

Hermione silently thanked her past self for putting a pair of jeans on, and taking a deep breath she copied Draco and swung one leg over the broomstick.

"And all we have to do now is push off..." He kicked the ground hard and Hermione tried not to scream as they took to the air.

Draco loved flying. Every single time he rode a broomstick he felt as though he was actually flying. Flying away from all the problems and complications - it was his own little freedom. When playing Quidditch all he had to do was focus on the snitch - that was it. No Lucius telling him what to do. No Death Eaters asking impossible tasks of him. Not even the war could distract him when he was in the air.

They flew higher and higher, above the tops of the tallest branches of the trees - Draco steering from behind Hermione the whole way. She couldn't deny the little rush she felt - but Hermione couldn't work out whether it was from the flying or because Draco's body was pressed up against hers and she could feel his heartbeat through his jacket.

Soon they were flying across the lake. Draco steered them down, so they were so close to the water Hermione could almost touch it. She looked at her reflection and for a split second almost didn't recognise herself. Her hair was flying in the wind and her cheeks were pink with exhilaration. She looked...dare she say...happy?

"Are you still scared?" Draco shouted over the rush of the wind.

"I'm not sure 'scared' is the right word," She replied, but her words were whipped away into the air.

Draco leaned back slightly and the broom slowed right down - they were practically floating above the water.

He took his left hand off the broomstick, and Hermione started to panic until he used it to sweep the hair from behind her neck. His breath tickled as he pressed his lips towards her shoulder.

"You know," he whispered "you're beautiful when you're brave," Hermione felt a shiver all the way down her back as he spoke. She was so distracted by him that she completely forget that she was actually flying on a broomstick and tried to turn her head around to kiss him - throwing the broom off balance.

"Woah," Draco yelled trying to regain control.

Hermione turned back around, and he couldn't help but smile at seeing the top of her ears go pink as she yelled "Sorry!"

They reached land once again and halted to a stop. Draco climbed off and held out a hand to help Hermione.

"Oh - such a gentleman!" She teased, and he bowed in reply putting her into a fit of giggles. They dropped the brooms off at the changing rooms and began walking back to the castle.

"I think I see what the fuss is all about now," She said to him, as she laced her fingers through his.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"The whole 'flying thing' - I think I get it," Hermione explained.

"Good, you know the second Slytherin match is - Oww, shit!" He suddenly cried out, alarming Hermione.

"Draco, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine - my - my head just really hurts, it's probably just the thin air getting to me," He said, although Hermione eyed him suspiciously. There was no way Draco was having altitude sickness.  
>"Hermione I'm fine - you don't need to be so worried all the time!" He told her and suddenly pulled her sideways.<p>

"What are you doing?" She asked - but he just winked in reply.

"I think I've done enough dangerous things for one evening thank you very much!" She tried to stop him, but he was tugging her hand as they walked towards the mound.

"There's just one more thing I want to show you," he said quietly.

Soon they reached the top of the hill, and Draco sat down gently pulling Hermione down with him.

She looked at him blankly "So...what am I supposed to be looking at?"

Draco smiled sheepishly, and without replying stretched his legs out along the grass and lay back. Hermione was befuddled but copied him anyway. Lying her head back on the soft ground she gasped quietly.

"Wow - that's incredible!"

"I know, right?" They were both staring up straight towards the sky - which was flooded with light from thousands of stars. Hermione felt as though she was looking at the entire universe.

"This is where I come when I need to think, or clear my head, or just think about..." His gaze shifted and he watched her blinking under the moonlight. He carried on watching as the breeze gently blew hair from one side to the other.

She rolled her head over to look at him "Just think about what?" She asked inquisitively.

"Oh...just stuff," he replied, giving her a small smile, which she happily returned.

Eventually they got up and hand in hand started walking back down the little hill towards the castle. Yet Draco was wincing with every other step, and Hermione pretended not to notice the tension in his hand - knowing if she asked him he would just lie again.

His left arm was burning unbearably and the more he tried to ignore the pain the worse it got.


	18. Chapter 18

He staggered into the dormitory. Unable to form a clear thought his hand was clutching his stomach. One of his ribs was broken, but the pain had been worse before - much worse. He covered his chest with his hand, and let out an involuntary groan. She was sat on the sofa, and hearing the noise, she turned around. Her heart stopped. He tried to tell her that the blood made it look much worse than it actually was, but he couldn't process the words - let alone form them.

_"If we can co-ordinate this with Draco's efforts at Hogwarts -" His aunt's shrill voice cut across the room._

_"How are those 'efforts' that we've heard so little of?" The Dark Lord interrupted her._

_"Well...it has been difficult to..." Draco struggled for the words._

_"You have had more than enough time to complete my request. I am not pleased," He didn't raise his voice. He didn't have to. Draco prepared himself for the cold rush of fear to return again, and when it did he physically stopped himself from shivering. All he could think of was how he never would have been sorted into Gryffindor - he was nowhere near brave enough. Not like Hermione. He could see her sat on that broom now - the look of exhilaration splashed across her face. _

_He kept that picture of her in his head throughout the curses. _

_Crucio._

_Crucio._

_Crucio._

_Crucio._

_Not as many as last time. He had been furious before, this was mere annoyance._

_Afterwards Draco stumbled out into the field outside Malfoy Manor and disapparated. _

"Draco! What - what happened?" Hermione rushed over to him. She hooked her arm under his and helped him over to the sofa managing to sit him down.

"It's nothing...I'm fine," His words were barely audible.

"What do I do? Where is this blood - " She lifted up the shirt and saw the gashes along his chest, her mouth open with shock. Hermione felt the tears beginning to form in her eyes, she didn't realise how unbearable it was to see him in pain. She took a breath and composed herself, realising she was acting ridiculously. Her natural intellect kicked in and she ran to her room, grabbed her wand and a small phial from the dresser.

Running back into the living room she looked him up and down.

"Can you lie down?" It was more of an instruction than a question, and Draco did what he was told.

She pulled the stopper out of the phial and began dabbing the liquid onto his chest. The cuts began to heal, slowly but surely, however Hermione could see that something was still wrong.

"I think a bone is broken...I'm not sure I can heal it," She hesitated.

"Hermione," He looked up to her "You know I can't go to the Hospital Wing like this. You can fix it - I know you can,"

"Okay, okay - I can do this, I can - Draco...," She babbled under her breath. Draco took he hand and gave it a squeeze.

She drew up her wand and before she had a chance to change her mind she flicked it upwards.

_SNAP._

Draco's body jerked upwards in one sudden move, and Hermione let out a little shriek.

"Did I break something else?" She asked, anxiously biting her lip. "Draco - are you alright?"

"Much better - thanks," He eventually replied, giving her a weak smile.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" She asked him.

"I think you know. First of all I was late, then I didn't..." _Don't tell her. You can't tell her about the mission _"I didn't give him the results he wanted, so..." He gestured to his shredded body, but Hermione couldn't look again.

"I know this seems bad to you Hermione, but I got off lightly," he tried to reassure her.

"Will it happen again?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.

"If I don't do what he wants by next Tuesday evening, I don't think I could bear to show my face at the Manor, it doesn't even matter what he'll do to me" he said, his eyes closing slowly.

Hermione thought over his words, dreading what Voldemort had asked him to do this time. That was when she realised that her had just told her everything. Everything she needed. The next meeting was Tuesday. The Manor - the must be Malfoy Manor. She could so easily run to the Gryffindor Common Room now and tell Harry and Ron. Yet she was frozen to the floor. As soon as the thought entered her mind she dismissed it. How could she even think of betraying him like that? Yet she was betraying her friends and the Order by not doing so...

Hermione had no idea what to do. She wouldn't hesitate to tell the Order the truth as long as she knew that Draco wouldn't be hurt. There was no way she could ask for that, let alone guarantee it. No way without revealing the truth to everyone about her relationship with Draco. As he slowly slipped from consciousness, she watched his chest rise and fall with each breath.

She let him fall asleep on the sofa, and eventually exhaustion defeated her conflicted mind and she fell asleep next to him - her hands lying on his chest protectively.

/

She crept out before he woke up the next morning, remembering her plans with Ginny and the boys.

They were waiting for her outside the Great Hall, all wearing coats, and gloves and Gryffindor scarves.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Asked Ron.

"Yep," She forced a smile, trying to push Draco from her mind. She had checked his wounds again before she left, but now she knew what Voldemort did to him she couldn't help but worry.

"So - do you know what colour dress you want?" Ginny linked her arm in Hermione's as they wandered down the snowy path.

"Dress for what?" Hermione asked - only hearing the last part of the sentence.

"Duh! The Christmas Ball. We must be the only girls left without dresses. I'm thinking green, or red...or maybe blue," Ginny carried on talking all the way to Hogsmede and Hermione tried her best to listen to what she was saying.

Hermione thought Ginny was being fussy, but when they got to the dress shop she had no idea herself which dress to choose. She walked past rails and rails, and occasionally would pick one out to try on - but none of them looked right. Ginny had found a dress, shoes and a bag before Hermione even had the first. She was hoping to find a blue dress, similar to the one she wore to the Yule Ball, but for some reason they were all incredibly frilly. There were a few nice ones Hermione spotted, but they were all short and she knew she'd stick out like a sore thumb if she didn't wear a floor-length gown.

Eventually she gave up "Come on Gin, let's go - this is pointless,"

"Wait a sec...how about this?" And Ginny pulled out the most gorgeous dress Hermione had ever seen.

/

After they were done shopping the girls met up with Harry and Ron in the Hog's Head.

They were sat around a small corner table away from the centre of the pub - although it was far from full.

"Apparently there's a big meeting coming up," Harry said in a hushed tone. Hermione wondered to herself how all their conversations ended up on the same topic. "He's planning something before the new year according to Lupin,"

"Planning something - like what?" Ginny asked.

"No idea, but the Order reckon it's something to do with Hogwarts - something big," he replied, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"Have you managed to get anything from Malfoy?" Ron turned to her. Hermione felt as though the three sets of eyes were scanning her. She had never been so scared of talking to her friends as she did now. There was no way she could lie to them - she never had done, and swore that she never would. Even if she did...would they even believe her? But Ron's sceptical tone made her want to tell them the truth - he didn't believe she could do it, and she had - even if it was by accident.

"Well..." She hesitated, trying to calm her racing pulse.

"You have found out something?" Harry asked, his eager tone unable to disguise itself.

"Is this the best place to talk about this? I mean, who knows who is listening in?" She tried to distract them, but all three had eager looks on their faces, expecting her to tell them some useful information.

"Unless you think old Aberforth is in league with the Death Eaters, I think we're fine," Harry joked, but Hermione couldn't fake a smile - not this time.

"The next meeting is at Malfoy Manor...next Friday," The lie tumbled out easier than she thought possible.

"Friday..." Harry echoed "That's Boxing day,"

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but before she could the bell of the pub door rang. She glanced over and once more her heartbeat sped up as she saw Draco enter. Her heart stopped when her eyes shifted down to where his arm was wrapped around Pansy Parkinson's waist.


	19. Chapter 19

"Hermione what's wrong?" Ron asked and turned around to see what she was staring at. Yet his words barely registered - Hermione couldn't take her eyes off Draco's hand squeezing Pansy's tiny waist.

"What are those stupid twats doing in here?" Ron said angrily.

"I don't know - but this isn't the place to start something Ron," Ginny answered. However, it seemed as though the Slytherins had other ideas. As the words came out of her mouth they sauntered over to the table where the group was sat.

"Mind if we join?" Pansy asked Harry casually. He opened his mouth to reply, but Ginny got there first.

"How about you find some other people to annoy?" She said sharply.

"If you hadn't noticed Ginge, there isn't anywhere else to sit - and you four are taking up a hell of a lot of room," Ginny and the two boys looked around the pub confusedly - in the past five minutes it had gone from empty to packed. But Hermione still hadn't stopped staring at how close Draco and Pansy were stood. She dragged her vision away, only to meet Harry staring at the same point, then look at her questioningly.

Unfortunately the Slytherin girl noticed too "What are you staring at clever clogs? Never seen human contact before?" She mocked Hermione, giggling away.

She couldn't bear to look at him - worried that the humiliation she felt was splashed across her face. She stared at her drink as Pansy, Draco, Blaise and some other Slytherins shoved their way onto the spare chairs and benches.

"What are you lot even doing here? Don't you have some innocent seventh years to bully?" Ron said angrily.

"Nope, we thought we'd have some proper fun today - isn't that right Draco?" Pansy said, winking at him. Hermione felt her stomach recoil with jealousy. She felt as though she was going to puke - although that would probably improve Pansy's looks immensely. Hermione noticed for the first time that Pansy had an incredibly pig-like nose. Too busy thinking of different animals that she looked like, Hermione missed the fleeting look of panic as Pansy brought Draco into the conversation. By the time Hermione looked at him, his mask of complete composure had returned.

"I think I'm -" He began to speak, squirming uncomfortably in his chair.

"Oh why don't you just run back home to Daddy?" Hermione was unable to stop herself. She wasn't going to sit here and watch as he mocked her like this. Who knew how much he had told Pansy? She was probably in on the joke all along. She could hear it now - '_Make the geek fall for you - maybe you'll even get into her pants!' _Well she wasn't having it.

Hermione - intending to leave, stood up. Draco, about to excuse himself to the toilet, did the same. Ignoring the scrape of the chairs on the wooden floor as they pushed back, Hermione and Draco stood opposite each other - their eyes locked. Hermione hoped he could tell how furious she was - she wasn't going to let him get away with this. Yet her fury prevented her from seeing the pleading look in his eyes. The rest of the group were too confused by what was happening to even notice that they seemed to stare at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"Come on guys, we've leaving," Hermione commanded. They others obeyed willingly, glaring at the students left sat at the table.

/

"Right then...do you just want to go back to the castle?" Harry muttered.

They were huddled outside of the tavern's front door deciding where to go next. Before any of them had chance to reply the front door opened and Draco, Pansy and Blaise walked out into the snow.

Hermione was just fed up - she wanted to go home and before anyone could stop her she started trudging back. The rest of the group eventually caught up with her, but yet again the Slytherins followed them. She had to endure taunts between the boys all the way back and Hermione was so exasperated that she'd also had enough of Harry and Ron.

Blaise and Pansy left when they got back - making their way to the dungeons. Although Pansy winked one last time at Draco, adding a giggle to ensure everyone else was watching. Draco lingered behind the group as they made their way to the Seventh Floor, but Hermione didn't turn around - not wanting her friends to realise what was going on.

They left the staircase, and along a corridor, he suddenly grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her into a deserted classroom, locking the door behind them.

He turned to face her.

"Before you say anything, can I just explain?"

"Actually _Malfoy, _I don't want to hear the details of your relationship with that vile girl. I don't want to hear how you've been laughing at me this entire time, and I especially don't want to hear how funny it was, and how much you enjoyed mocking me, because frankly -"

"Woah, woah, slow down - that is not what has been going on here!" He replied hurriedly.

"Really? Is she just a little 'side action' then?" Hermione asked sarcastically.

He took a step towards her. "Hermione, just listen - please,"

She drew back "Don't you come near me,"

She hoped he didn't hear the tremble in her voice. However much Hermione couldn't deny what she had just seen there was a little voice in the back of her brain hoping she'd imagined it. She didn't want to believe that everything was fake - because he meant a lot to her...a lot more than she had ever expected.

"Pansy asked me to do that - act as though we were together - to make someone jealous," He said simply.

"That's it?" She replied "That's all you have to say for yourself?" She couldn't believe her ears.

"You walk into that pub all high and mighty, your arm wrapped around some other girl, and you make out as though you were just helping a friend!" She pushed past him and made her way to the door, she unlocked it with a flick of her wand, but Draco just re-locked it again.

"I was - I promise. Hermione you have to believe me," He strode over to her once more.

"You've changed me and I could never do that to you. I know how it must have looked..."

Hermione scoffed.

"I should have told you-"

"Yes, you should have done!" She was starting to get angry - she had no idea whether to believe him or not.

"I was going to, but when I woke up this morning you had disappeared. I thought maybe...after what happened last night, maybe things had changed - maybe you had changed your mind," He said, his voice lowering.

"What do you mean?" She asked, not understanding.

"I thought maybe you'd remembered who I was and that you didn't want to be with someone like that...like me," He explained sadly.

"How the hell could you think that?!" Her angry tone caught him by surprise.

"Draco, tell me - how could you think that I was just going to do that to you?" Hermione hadn't realised that maybe he was doubting her affection as much as she was doubting his. He just always acted so confident, and so self-assured.

"You're not exactly forthcoming with your feelings," He said with an attempt at light-heartedness. But she was even more confused than before.

"Hermione - you've never even told me how you feel. We touch and it's amazing, we kiss and it's even more spectacular, but I never really know how you're feeling. I want to know more about you,"

Hermione was hesitant "I guess I'm just worried that I'll...that you'll think I'm boring,"

"Are you kidding? You're the most interesting person I know!" Suddenly he was filled with energy - she had never seen him so alive. Was this really how she made him act? She had never even noticed before...

"Hermione you could be reading a dictionary and I would find it interesting. You fascinate me, and excite me, and I really do want to hear everything you feel - even if you think it's the most boring thing in the world. I want to be with you and learn more about you, like I have been doing over these past months. For me there is nothing more exhilarating than you...it's just you," He said, the passion in his voice filling the space of the big, empty classroom.

Hermione felt like flying. No-one had ever spoken about her like that before, no-one had ever looked at her with that twinkle in their eye. She had never felt special, until she was with him. All in a rush she ran up to him and flung her arms around his neck and reached up onto her tip-toes; their lips colliding at once. Her hands were in his hair and made their way to his neck to pull him down towards her. He felt so familiar now, it was as though they had fitted together to create something completely new.

Draco's lips travelled from hers, along her cheek and down her neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up onto one of the desks, his breath growing thicker with every second. Hermione drew his face back up to hers, their mouths fusing once more. It was new and exciting, and hot and heavy. His hands were travelling up and down her thighs and without realising she had unbuttoned his shirt.

Finally they came up for air, panting heavily. Hermione looked down at Draco's perfect chest and smiled guiltily.

"Sorry - I got a bit carried away," She blushed, sending Draco's heart pounding against his chest.

He stroked her cheek gently "Maybe we should cool down a bit," He winked, and began buttoning his shirt up.

Before leaving the room, he leant down one more time to kiss her - slow and soft. He drew back, unable to stop himself from grinning.

"So, you want me to tell you more about how I feel?" She said teasingly.

"Always," He replied with a smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Even if I disagree with you?" She asked.

"Especially then - I love bickering with you," He grinned and leaned towards her for another kiss.

At the last second, she drew back "And you're definitely not with Pansy, right?"

"Definitely,"

This time she was the one to lean in.

**A/N: I'm hoping to get another chapter in before Christmas...what do you guys think? :) x**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: So this chapter is pretty long...I hope you guys are ready for it. I just want to say thank you for all the follows/favourites/reviews - I love you guys! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! x  
><strong>

Draco stared at the suit hanging in the wardrobe - it was the best thing he owned. Tailor made to fit him perfectly; apparently it was made from one of the most expensive fabrics in the country. He shut the door with a sigh and turned to the mirror to check himself once more. He always hated wearing suits - they were so uncomfortable. But this old one was his favourite. It may not have cost a fortune, but he liked wearing it - which was much more than could be said for the thing in the cupboard. It was only simple - black jacket and slim-fit black trousers. He couldn't decide between the silver waistcoat or the tie, so eventually he just settled for going open-collar.

Messing with his hair nervously Draco walked out into the living room, but Hermione was still in her room. He took the small gift out of his pocket, checking it was still there. He had tried his best to wrap it neatly, but he really wasn't very good with scissors. He had been determined to do it the muggle way though and so it looked a bit of a shambles, and had now learnt that tying a bow was deceptively difficult. He put it back in his pocket and took a deep breath.

"Hermione are you ready yet?" Draco called "Merlin, why do girls always ta-" He began to mutter when Hermione walked through her door and his breath hitched in his throat.

She was nervous about the dress - maybe it was too much? But when Ginny had picked it out in the shop Hermione knew it had to be the one she wore. Besides, the Christmas Ball was supposed to be a formal event - and as Head Girl she couldn't exactly turn up in jeans.

The simple black bodice was fitted down to her waist, where it flared out into layers upon layers of black tulle netting. She worried about wearing off-the-shoulder sleeves, but they meant that she could leave her hair down - only pinning up the front strands.

She bit her lip and looked at Draco who was just staring at her silently.

She started fiddling with the skirt, unsure of what to do with herself "So...is this okay?" She asked him nervously.

He didn't reply. Instead he walked up to her, took her hand and placed the lightest brush of a kiss upon it.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but her heart was soaring. She felt like a princess - and her handsome prince was right here with her.

"I have a present for you," He said quietly.

"Me too," She replied.

He began reaching his pocket but she stopped him "We have to go - we're going to be late, we'll give them afterwards yeah?"

"Sure," He replied, giving her a small smile as he tried not to show how nervous he was.

"Although I think I can give you one of my gifts now..." She kidded, reaching up to kiss him.

"Come on," He said with a grin - leading her to the door

"Are you ready?" He asked, offering her his arm.

"Not at all," She said, linking her arm in his.

/

The Great Hall had been transformed.

The wooden floors were replaced with a blanket of snow, the long tables switched for smaller round white ones, and there were four 20ft Christmas trees in each corner, all decorated with tinsel, baubles and little silver fairy lights. The ceiling had been enchanted so that glistening snowflakes gently descended from above and a string quartet sat in the corner - the instruments playing themselves.

By the time the Head Boy and Girl arrived the majority of the school were there. The girls in long, elegant dresses and the boys in suits. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief - thankful that she wouldn't stick out.

"Are you okay?" Draco whispered to her as they lingered by the door, anxious to go in.

"As long as I'm with you I'm perfect," She replied, looking up at him.

"I'll always be here Hermione,"

She had to stop herself from kissing him...that was definitely going to be the hardest part of the night, especially as he looked so handsome. As he led her forwards into the room, she gripped tightly onto his strong arm. At least she could stay with him tonight without people questioning it. McGonagall had already told them both to stay together and _'create a united front as Head Boy and Head Girl'._ Hermione tried not to look to ecstatic to be able to spend the Christmas Ball with Draco.

"Welcome students to this year's Christmas Ball," The Headmistresses voice rang out from the steps at the front, and Hermione turned to look.

"It is a time for celebration and happiness. A time to be grateful for everything we have. As we all know - things can be taken from us much quicker than we expect, and if we don't take a moment to look around...they'll be gone before we know," The Hall was so silent, you could almost hear to snow falling on the ground.

"Anyway, enough of that. Time to get on with the festivities. I hope you'll all join me in the first dance of the night - led by our Head Boy and Girl," McGonagall looked to them and Hermione gulped nervously.

The floor cleared and the music began. Draco took her hand, and placed his other hand on her waist. Taking a deep breath together, they began. It was slow at first, gentle and lyrical. Draco had been practising in is room - he didn't want to trip over or anything stupid like that. But the practise wasn't necessary. They flowed across the floor as though they had done it a thousand times before. More and more couples joined them, but Draco and Hermione didn't notice. They were lost in their own world. Wrapped up in the wonder of being with each other, and holding each other. Hermione stared into his eyes and all of a sudden it hit her.

She loved him. They may bicker and argue and maybe they were complete opposites, but she loved him. She loved him. The thought filled her head and she laughed in delight as he spun her around the room. She was flying, she was soaring...she was dizzy. The song came to an end, but they stood looking at each other until the next song started. As the floor filled with couples again, he took her hand and led her towards a table.

"Should I get us some drinks?" He asked breathlessly. And all she could do was nod her head and smile. She kept smiling as she watched him cross the room towards the refreshments.

"Hermione," She felt a tap on her shoulder "I need to talk to you," It was Harry.

"Sure, what's up?" She said - unable to control her smile. She had never felt like this before.

"It's pretty important...we should go outside," He took her hand and led her out of the Hall, round the corridor and behind a statue.

"We've found out loads more information about the Death Eaters. At least ten spies in the ministry have been uncovered, but the most important thing is this: did you tell Malfoy anything about the Order?"

"I - um, nothing I think...why?" Hermione didn't understand why he was asking her this.

"Good, because Voldemort specifically asked Draco to find out information from you - with you living together and all, they thought he could get close to you, to use you and discover our secrets," He replied. "We need to talk more...but not now, I'll find you later, okay?" And with that he was gone.

Unable to make sense of what she had just heard, Hermione stood frozen to the spot. Draco was...The same instruction she had been given. But hadn't she told him? Hadn't she told him everything the night after they first kissed? And he would have told her. If it was true he would have told her. Harry must have lied. It wasn't possible. Her head was spinning, she had no idea where to go. Hearing the faint sound of music drifting through the corridor she followed it until she was at the entrance of the Hall. Staring into the crowded room all she could see was those silver eyes flitting around. They were trying to find her, and eventually they did. He grinned at her and winked, but the gesture made Hermione feel sick to her stomach. Suddenly the room felt as though it was drawing in. Claustrophobia overwhelmed her. The walls were closing in on her. It had all been one big lie. For him. For Voldemort. She couldn't move. Her heart had stopped. _Breathe. _She told herself. _In. Out. In. _The silver eyes were looking at her again, but this time they were filled with concern. He was walking towards her.

Hermione ran.

She ran up to her room. _Their room. _She could hear him calling behind her, but she couldn't stop. She didn't stop until she got there. He caught up grabbing her arm as she walked through the door.

"Don't you dare touch me," She yelled, walking away from him.

"Hermione, what the hell is wrong?"

She spun round to face him.

"You're a brilliant liar Draco Malfoy. I think that's what I'm finding hardest to understand - how you could...how you could just...how dare you?" Her temper was starting to build as it dawned on her how many times they had kissed, how many times she had thought she'd seen a glimpse of him..._really seen him._ But it was all just one big lie.

"How dare you stand there? How dare you come near me?"

She knew. She knew. That was the only thought going round Draco's mind.

"Hermione, please just, just listen - " He whispered.

"No, no I will not listen to a Death Eater. You don't deserve that from me,"

"I know, but there was nothing-" He was trying to understand how she knew. How on earth he could ever fix this.

"You don't deserve anything at all," She screamed. "You disgust me,"

"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?" He finally raised his voice. And once he started he couldn't stop; it was as though the old Malfoy was a ticking time bomb...finally he detonated.

"TELL ME WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO! I'm a fucking death eater Hermione, it's do what He tells you - or die. I had no choice. It's what I believe in...what I used to believe in anyway. Would you have given up those dicks you call 'The Order' because of me? I doubt it." He was pacing round the room, barely even looking at her. "You know, I tried so hard to be the person you wanted me to be. _Merlin knows_, I tried to be good_._ Look at me now! Everything is fucked up...everything. Yes I lied, of course I did, because that's who I fucking am. I don't think you get it - "

"I already have," Hermione whispered; a single tear creeping slowly down her cheek.

"What?" He whirled on her, and took in the picture of her standing there: shoulders sagging, eyes downcast. Suddenly all Draco could feel was guilt. He had never seen her look so vulnerable. Not in almost seven years.

"I already have given up the Order..." She finally looked him in the eye...and that was so much worse. Gone was the strong-willed, confident Hermione he knew. Stood in front of him was the embodiment of pain.

"I lied to them about the meeting tonight, because you are going to be there...because I didn't want them to kill you," Hermione tried to talk, but all that came out was a whisper.

She felt like a fool. This whole time he had been _pretending_ and because of it she had lied to the people who trusted her most. What was it all for? He had lied to her face. She had admitted everything to him the night after they kissed in the alleyway. She didn't want to lie to him or deceive him, and he had just spat that back in her face.

Hermione had never said the words she said next, not when Ron was horrible to her, not when people mocked her for trying hard at school, not even when her friends were being threatened by death eaters, but now...

"Fuck you," She spat.

He flinched, taking a step backwards.

What happened next was the last thing either of them expected. Hermione drew her wand - all sympathy lost - she wanted him to feel the pain she was feeling...when out of the blue Draco cried out in pain.

"Aaah, oww, shit!"

Hermione stood frozen, wondering what on earth he was doing, until she realised he was clutching his left arm. His mark.

"Go," She said coldly, without a drop of emotion in her voice.

"Hermione I can't, not now. Just..." He knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say that he cared for her. That maybe it was just part of his orders at the beginning...but now, now he couldn't imagine life without her.

"Hermione...just...just let me tell you something. Let me tell you that I...I lo-"

"Leave Malfoy," She wasn't going to let him say it.

Not now. Not ever.

The last bit of energy drained from his body.

And the last thing she saw before turning away from him was a tear forming in the corner of one of his perfect silver eyes.

He walked out the door, and Hermione sank to the ground, burying herself in the folds of the beautiful black dress...until the sobs finally took control of her body.


End file.
